Global stocks were off to a weak start on Tuesday morning, ahead of a monetary policy statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day.
U.S. stock index futures were down with a little more than an hour before markets opened, suggesting that stocks will fall at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 57 points or 0.5 per cent. The broader S&P 500 was down 8 points or 0.8 per cent.
Both indexes rose modestly on Monday, partly in anticipation of the Fed announcing greater stimulus measures to help revive the U.S. economic recovery. The Fed is scheduled to release its policy statement at 2:15 p.m. (ET).
Meanwhile, investors are also keeping a close eye on China after the country reported a trade surplus that was wider than expected because of slowing growth in imports. This is another potential sign that China's domestic consumption -- the hope of the developed world -- is slowing down.
Overseas stock markets were also down. In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent and Germany's DAX index was down 0.8 per cent in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.2 per cent in overnight trading.
