U.S. stock futures traded in a narrow range Tuesday, as investors awaited a speech from the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and weighed reports that Lehman Brothers Holdings might raise US$4 billion in fresh capital.

Meanwhile, auto makers will be reporting May auto sales figures. Prior to the company’s annual meeting today, General Motors announced North-American plant closures. The cuts include the closure of the automaker’s pickup-truck plant in Oshawa, Ont.

Fed chief Bernanke will speak at a conference in Barcelona, as will European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa.

Here at home, the Supreme Court of Canada has decided it will hear an appeal of last month’s court decision that blocked the $51.7 billion takeover of BCE.

In a brief ruling handed down after the markets closed Monday, the high court said it would hear arguments June 17.

BCE shares dropped 40¢, or 1.14%, to close at $34.65 on Monday.

In Tuesday’s economic news, Statistics Canada reported that prices farmers received for their commodities rose 9.8% in March 2008 from the same month a year earlier, as significant gains in crop prices offset declines in livestock prices.

The Canadian dollar opened at US99.99¢, down 0.13 of cent.

In today’s earnings news, Lululemon Athletica Inc. more than doubled its first-quarter profit to US$8.5 million, but said full-year earnings will be lower than previously thought.

U.S. luxury home builder Toll Brothers swung to loss on continued writedowns from the housing crunch.

Oil prices remained above US$127 a barrel Tuesday. Light sweet crude oil was at US$127.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, off 60¢.

Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei index closed with a decline of 1.6% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 1.8%.

The FTSE 100 index was off 0.1% early in the afternoon in London, while the German DAX declined 0.4% and the Paris CAC-40 edged up 0.2%.

Toronto stocks finished higher Monday after a rollercoaster session.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 99.45 points, or 0.68%, to close at 14,814.18, as seven to the 10 TSX main groups posted gains.

Advances in heavyweight resource shares helped the benchmark largely ignore renewed worries over the global impact of the credit crunch.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 5.11 points, or 0.19%, to end at 2,651.89.

In New York, U.S. stocks slid on renewed fears the credit crunch has yet to run its course.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 134.50 points, or 1.06%, to 12,503.82. The S&P 500 slid 14.71 points, or 1.05%, to 1,385. 67. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 31.13 points, or 1.23%, end at 2,491.53.