Wall Street stock futures slipped lower Wednesday amid concerns over consumer spending and the struggling North American auto industry.

Democratic leaders say they will push legislation to use the US$700 billion bailout fund to aid auto makers General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson gives an update on the government;s financial rescue package later this morning at 10:30 ET.

Here at home, the government of Canada will buy another $50 billion in insured mortgages to help keep credit markets moving, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US82.24¢, down 0.74 cent from Monday’s official close, before Tuesday’s Remembrance Day bank trading holiday.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

In today’s earnings news, insurer ING Canada Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $57 million, down from $92 million a year-earlier on losses related to turbulence in global stock markets.

U.S. department store chain Macy’s reported that it swung a third-quarter loss as revenue slid and same-store sales continued to decline, though profit margins edged higher.

In commodities news, the price of crude oil fell below US$59 per barrel. The front-month light sweet crude contract is at US$58.82, off 51¢, on worries that the slowing world economy will curb demand for oil products, from asphalt to gasoline.


Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 1.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.7%.

London’s FTSE index is up 1% and the main German and French indexes show slight gains on hopes for further cuts in interest rates.

On Tuesday, North American stock markets tumbled amid disappointing corporate earnings reports and a plunge in commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 264.8 points, or 2.73% to close at 9,424.00.

The S&P/TSX Venture index shed 41.69 points, or 4.56% to close at 872.33.

In New York, U.S. stocks suffered a similar fate to those in Canada, as American earnings reports illustrated weakening consumer spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 176.58 points, or 2%, to end at 8,693.96. This included another steep decline for shares of General Motors, which fell 13.1% to $2.92 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 index dipped 20.26 points, or 2.2% to end the day at 898.95. The Nasdaq composite index fell 35.84 points, or 2.2%, to 1,580.9.

IE