U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday after a yesterday’s selloff, boosted by rate-cut hopes and upbeat earnings from Hewlett-Packard.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said October’s inflation slipped to an annual rate of 2.4%, from 2.5% in September, despite higher gasoline and housing prices. That could make interest rate cuts more likely.

And the core index, a key measure for the central bank, dipped below the 2% target to 1.8% on an annual basis, the weakest growth in the key index since June 2006.

The Canadian dollar, which had opened at US$1.0205 — up half a cent from Monday’s close — fell to US$1.066 cents after the inflation report, before edging up slightly.

In U.S. economic news, housing starts climbed 3% in October on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, an increase unexpected by forecasters. But the level of building permits, an important indicator of future construction activity, fell by 6.6% to the lowest level in 14 years.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes from its October meeting. The minutes are scheduled for release at 14:00 ET. The release will also include new forecasts from the Fed for growth and inflation.

Gold futures jumped $11.50 to US$789.50 an ounce. January-dated crude-oil futures rose $1.05 to US$95.69 a barrel.

In earnings news, Hewlett-Packard reported a stronger-than-forecast 28% profit increase, and forecast current-quarter earnings ahead of Wall Street estimates.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.12%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced 1.13%.

In European trading, the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, Germany’s DAX index lifted 0.72% and France’s CAC-40 gained 0.36%.

Toronto stocks finished sharply lower on Monday, weighed down by weak commodity prices and investor jitters amid more bad news in the banking sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 182.12 points, or 1.35%, to end at 13,348.24.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 82.37 points, or 2.8%, to end at 2,854.83.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks slumped after a broker downgrade of banking gain Citigroup sparked concerns that more mortgage losses may lie ahead, compounding doubts about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

The world’s biggest reinsurer, Swiss Re, also fed worries that losses from the global credit crisis may widen, with its announcement of a US$1.07 billion writedown.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 218.35 points, or 1.66%, to end at 12,958.44. The S&P 500 was down 25.47 points, or 1.75%, at 1,433.27. The Nasdaq composite index was down 43.86 points, or 1.66%, at 2,593.38.