North American stocks were relatively unchanged at the start of trading on Tuesday, following a three-day rebound from last week's dramatic selloff.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4 points, to 12,041. The broader S&P 500 fell 1 point or 0.1 per cent, to 1297. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index fell 15 points or 0.1 per cent, to 13,998.
Research In Motion Ltd. rose 0.9 per cent after it announced that its Playbook tablet computer - a soon-to-be competitor to Apple Inc.'s iPad - will be available on April 19 in Canada and the United States. Apple shares rose 0.4 per cent.
Commodity producers were mixed, even as commodity prices took a step backward after Monday's gains. Crude oil fell to $102.26 (U.S.) a barrel, down 83 cents, while gold fell to $1,423 an ounce, down $3.60. Suncor Energy Inc. fell 0.9 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. fell 0.3 per cent.
In other moves, Alcoa Inc. and Caterpillar Inc. fell 0.6 per cent each, although Chevron Corp. rose 0.5 per cent. Walgreen Co. fell 7.6 per cent after it reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings, which rose 10 per cent to 80 cents a share.