Wall Street stock futures were moderately higher Tuesday, suggesting markets would recover somewhat from Monday’s steep selloff.

The slide was triggered by a report from a revised outlook from the World Bank. The organization said it expects the global economy to shrink by 2.9% this year, down sharply from the 1.7% contraction predicted in March.

Later this morning, the U.S. National Association of Realtors will report on May sales of existing homes and the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency will release home-price data for April.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar was slightly lower Tuesday, down 0.04 of a cent to US86.72¢ after dropping 1.34¢ on Monday.

In M&A news, Agrium Inc. has extended its offer to buy CF Industries Holdings Inc. to July 22. The fertilizer company said 62% of CF shareholders have tendered their stock to the offer worth more than US$4 billion.

In Asia, stocks fell sharply following North American markets lower. The Nikkei 225 finished 2.8% lower in Tokyo.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 index added 0.3%, Frankfurt’s DAX was up 0.63% while the CAC 40 in Paris moved ahead 0.31%.

In commodities news, oil futures rose 69¢ to US$68.13 a barrel.

On Monday, a broad-based decline on the Toronto Stock Exchange sent the composite index down more than 4% on Monday, as a more pessimistic economic outlook from the World Bank hampered investor confidence.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 453.77 points, or 4.4%, to close at 9,834.18, as all 10 main groups on the TSX retreated.

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp. tumbled 12.2% after the insurer announced late on Friday that the Ontario Securities Commission is investigating whether Manulife failed to advise clients on risks related to its segregated fund products. Manulife shares fell $2.83 to $20.42.

Hefty losses among junior stocks sent the S&P/TSX Venture composite index down 40.14 points, or 3.6%, to 1,078.66.

In New York, the major indices also fell sharply.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 200.72 points, or 2.4%, to close at 8,339.01.

The S&P 500 shed 28.19 points, or 3.1%, to 893.04, leaving it in negative territory for the year so far.

The Nasdaq composite index declined 61.28 points, or 3.4%, to end at 1,766.19.

IE