Wall Street stock futures declined on Wednesday after a surprise drop in U.S. retail sales and a jump in the number of U.S. households facing foreclosure.

The U.S. Commerce Department said retail sales fell 0.4% in April, after falling 1.1% in March. Analysts expected a 0.1% gain.

Also Wednesday, a new report showed the number of U.S. households facing foreclosure jumped 32% in April.

More than 342,000 households received at least one foreclosure notice during the month, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Here at home, sales of new motor vehicles rose 6.3% in March to 122,194 units, Statistics Canada reported. It was the largest monthly growth since January 2008. The increase was mainly due to higher sales of trucks, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.33¢, up 0.27 of a cent from Tuesday’s close.

In today’s earnings news, ING Canada Inc posted a first-quarter loss as weak equity markets led to investment losses.

The property and casualty insurer said net loss was $36.3 million, or 30¢ a share, in the three months ended March 31. That compares to a profit of $23 million, or 19¢ a share, in the same period a year earlier.

In other other news, the European Commission fined Intel US$1.45 billion over alleged antitrust violations.

In today’s commodities news, oil futures crept up 29¢ to US$59.14 a barrel ahead of weekly energy inventory data.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.5%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dipped 0.6%. In afternoon trading, the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.7%, Germany’s DAX index declined 0.8%, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.9%.

Despite a strong boost in the materials group, the Toronto Stock Exchange finished lower on Tuesday as financial stocks retreated.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 16.44 points, or 0.2%, to close at 10,077.70.

Financial stocks fell 1.8% during Tuesday’s trading.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index advanced on Tuesday, gaining 15.16 points, or 1.4%, to end at 1,078.27.

In New York, U.S. markets had a volatile day Tuesday, finishing with mixed results.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.34 points, or 0.6%, to 8,469.11.

The S&P 500 fell 0.89 points, or 0.1%, to 908.35.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite dipped 15.32, or 0.88%, to end at 1,715.92.

IE