U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open for stocks Wednesday after mortgage-giant Freddie Mac shares reported a wider-than-forecast loss.

This morning Freddie Mac reported a $821 million loss for the second quarter, cut its dividend and said it’s considering issuing more stock.

Morgan Stanley announced that it has been retained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to provide advice regarding Treasury’s handling of
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

In other earnings news, second-quarter profits at BCE Inc. fell to $361 million from a year-ago $667 million as the telecom giant prepared itself to be sold to a private equity consortium.

Fertilizer producer Agrium Inc. said its profits have grown to record heights, with net income rising to $636 million in the second quarter.

Time Warner posted a 26% drop in profit, and Ambac Financial Group’s operating loss disappointed analysts. Sprint Nextel swung to a second-quarter loss on severance and other costs.

Crude-oil futures rose 37¢ to US$119.54 a barrel ahead of U.S. weekly energy inventory data.

In M&A news, Xstrata launched a US$10 billion hostile bid for Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum miner.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US95.77¢, down 0.21 of a cent from Tuesday’s close.

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 was up 9.30, or 0.17%, to 5,463.80. Germany’s DAX index fell 7.92, or 0.12%, to 6,510.78, and France’s CAC-40 rose 12.52, or 0.29%, to 4,398.87.

The Toronto stock market plunged Tuesday as falling energy stocks and an eroding loonie pulled down almost every sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 254.33 points, or 1.88%, to end at 13,242.20, after hitting a session low of 13,130.54.

With just three out of 10 main sectors pushing lower, the natural resources sectors accounted for the bulk of the day’s declines.

In Toronto, the materials and energy sectors shed 8.6% and 5%, respectively.

Oil settled down at US$119.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling as low as US$118.00 earlier.

The resource-heavy junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index plunged 95.67 points, or 4.27%, to finish at 2,142.44.

In New York, U.S. stocks soared after the Federal Reserve, as expected, left benchmark lending rates unchanged at 2%.

The Dow Jones industrial average soared 331.21 points, or 2.94%, to 11,615.36, while the S&P 500 jumped 35.59 points, or 2.85%, at 1,284.60.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 64.27 points, or 2.81%, to 2,349.83.