Wall Street futures activity suggested stocks would open flat Tuesday after the previous session’s rally.

Investors are awaiting the release of the U.S. National Association of Realtors’ index on pending home sales for April. Analysts are expecting the index to rise slightly.

Also on today’s economic calendar are the latest auto sales figures.

Here at home, total borrowing by Canada’s non-financial sectors — households, private corporations, governments and government business enterprises — fell to $312 billion in the first quarter of 2009, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

That’s down from $412 billion in the previous quarter.

As a sign of the economic downturn, household borrowing fell to $65 billion from the previous quarter’s $91 billion, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US92.23¢, up 0.57 of a cent from Monday’s close.

In commodities news, light, sweet crude dipped 57¢ to US$68.01 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index sank 2.6%.

European indexes were mostly lower. The UK’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7%, Germany’s DAX index was up 0.2%, and France’s CAC-40 was down 0.3%.

The Toronto Stock Exchange surged sharply higher on Monday as new economic data from around the world heightened hopes of an economic recovery, and oil futures soared.

The S&P/TSX composite index soared 233.99 points, or 2.3%, to close at 10,604.06.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 16.47 points, or 1.5%, to close at 1,140.55.

The Canadian dollar edged up US0.06¢ to close at US91.66¢.

In New York, U.S. markets also advanced as investors reacted to new economic data. The Commerce Department reported that consumer spending fell by a smaller than expected 0.1% in April, while manufacturing in the U.S. shrank less than forecast in May as new orders increased for the first time since the recession began, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended at 8,721.44, up a sharp 221.11 points, or 2.6%.

The S&P 500 index added 23.73 points, or 2.6%, to close at 942.87.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 54.35 points, or 3.1%, to finish at 1,828.68.

IE