Wall Street futures suggested stocks may pare some of the previous session’s losses on Tuesday, the final day of the first quarter.

On Monday, North American stocks slumped after the Obama administration raised the spectre of bankruptcy for General Motors and Chrysler

Here at home, real gross domestic product declined 0.7% in January, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

The drop was in line with economists’ expectations.

The Canadian dollar opened at US79.93¢, up 0.68 of a cent from Monday’s close.

In other corporate news, Montie Brewer has resigned as president and chief executive of Air Canada, the company said in a surprise announcement Monday night.

Air Canada shares on the TSX closed down 3¢ at $1.15 on Monday afternoon, before the announcement.

In commodities news, crude oil rose US$1.09 to US$49.50 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.5%. In midday trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 3.10%, Germany’s DAX index rose 1.4%, and France’s CAC-40 rose 1.7%.

On Monday, Toronto stocks closed sharply lower as troubles at North American automakers and European banks spooked investors.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 224.84 points, or 2.55%, at 8,596.22, wiping out much of last week’s 3.7% gain.

The benchmark index, which had edged into positive territory last week for the year to date, has now fallen 4.4% in 2009.

Talk of bankruptcy for automakers GM and Chrysler by the Obama administration, which rejected the turnaround plans put forward by those companies, dragged investor confidence lower.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 15.82 points, or 1.65%, to finish at 945.20.

In New York, stocks tumbled as the U.S. administration forced out GM’s CEO, pushed Chrysler toward a merger with Fiat and threatened bankruptcy for both. Both companies received a government bailout in December.

GM shares fell 25.4% to US$2.70 a share.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 254.16 points, or 3.27%, to 7,522.02. The S&P 500 fell 28.41 points, or 3.48%, to 787.53. The Nasdaq composite index shed 43.40 points, or 2.81%, to 1,501.80.

IE