U.S. stocks futures pointed sharply higher Tuesday, getting a boost from rallies in Asia and Europe and by expectations of further interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed’s interest-rate setting committee begins deliberations on Tuesday, with expectations for a half-point cut to bring the Fed funds rate to 1%. The U.S. central bank rarely makes announcements on the first day, but after this month’s global coordinated rate cut, traders are especially on alert for an early move.

Tuesday’s economic calendar features the Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence for October and the S&P/Case-Shiller report on home prices for August.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar continues its tumble, opening at US77.17¢, down 0.42 cent. The loonie is down about 18% since the start of October.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

In commodities news, oil futures edged up 46¢ to US$63.68 a barrel, while gold regained US$6.20 to US$749.10 an ounce.

In earnings news, Rogers Communications Inc. reported an 84% increase in third-quarter net income to $495 million as operating revenue grew 14% from a year ago to $2.98 billion.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. posted a drop in third-quarter net income to $172.7 million, compared with $218.6 million a year earlier.

The company said the 21% profit decline largely reflects writedowns of asset-backed commercial paper and year-ago foreign-exchange gains on long-term debt.

Honda Motor reported a 41% drop in profit and cut its annual profit view.

Energy giant BP reported a better-than-expected 83% rise in net profit to US$8.05 billion on higher average oil prices.

Overnight, Asia markets rallied, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index soaring more than 14%.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 rose 4% near midday in London. Germany’s DAX surged 7.3%. The French CAC-40 was up 3.4%.

On Monday, the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange nosedived more than 750 points as concerns about a global recession mounted.

The S&P/TSX composite index plunged 756.75 points, or 8.14%, to end the day at 8,537.34.

On a percentage basis, it was the market’s worst battering since Black Monday of Oct. 19, 1987.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index shed 21.97 points, or 2.64%, to close at 808.99.

Equities in New York moved into positive territory for part of the day, but tumbled in later trading to close the day with more losses.

Late-day declines pushed the Dow Jones industrial average down 203.18 points, or 2.4%, to 8,175.77. The S&P 500 index declined 27.85 points, or 3.2%, to 848.92, and the Nasdaq composite index slipped 46.13 points, or 3%, to close at 1,505.9.