U.S. stock futures pointed to a second day of losses on Tuesday ahead of a report on U.S. consumer confidence and the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its last meeting.

The U.S. Conference Board’s poll of consumer confidence in August is expected to drop sharply after this month’s financial jitters. Economists expect a decline in the gauge to 104.0 from 112.6 in July. The data will be released at 10:00 ET.

At 14:00, the Fed will release minutes from its last meeting in which it held interest rates steady and gave a fairly hawkish statement on inflation.

Here at home, Statistics Canada reported that labour productivity in the business sector increased at virtually the same pace in Canada and the United States during the past 45 years, but for entirely different reasons.

In Canada, investment in capital was the most important factor in the growth of labour productivity. In the United States, however, the main factor was improvement in production efficiency, StatsCan said.

The Bank of Canada’s deputy governor said late Monday that the recent upheaval in global credit markets may cause the central bank to reconsider raising interest rates next week.

The Canadian dollar opened at US94.85¢, unchanged from Monday’s close.

Crude-oil futures rose 10¢ to US$72.07 a barrel.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.1% lower in Tokyo and the FTSE 100, after a three-day break, slipped 0.7% in London.

The Toronto stock market ended lower on Monday, as problems in the U.S. housing sector overshadowed a big merger in the steel sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 32.90 points, or 0.24%, at 13,487.43.

The drop followed a U.S. report that showed the number of unsold homes in July was at its highest level in more than 15 years, adding to worries about the impact of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.

In M&A news, U.S. Steel Corp. said it will buy Canada’s Stelco for about $1.1 billion, or $38.50 a share. Stelco shares jumped $10.70, or 39.7%, to $37.63.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 6.80 points, or 0.26%, to 2,632.68.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell on Monday following the release of the July housing report.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 56.74 points, or 0.42%, at 13,322.13. The S&P 500 was down 12.58 points, or 0.85%, at 1,466.79. The Nasdaq composite index was down 15.44 points, or 0.60%, at 2,561.25.