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– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a moderately higher opening on Tuesday, as traders are likely to go bargain hunting following the sell-off that was seen in the previous session. While strength in the global markets and an increase in commodities prices may also push stocks higher, buying interest may be somewhat subdued amid a light day on the corporate news front. A report on new home sales in the month of April could impact trading not long after the open.

Stocks moved sharply lower at the start of trading on Monday and saw continued weakness throughout the trading session, as investors expressed renewed concerns about the financial situation in Europe and its potential impact on the global economic recovery. While the major averages did not see much follow-through on the initial downward move, they remained stuck firmly in the red. The Dow fell 130.78 points or 1.1 percent to 12,381.25, the Nasdaq dropped 44.42 points or 1.6 percent to 2,758.90 and the S&P 500 slid 15.90 points or 1.2 percent to 1,317.37.

The losses extended the downward trend seen over the past few weeks, dragging the major averages down to their lowest closing levels in over a month.

The sell-off seen at the open came as traders reacted to news that Standard & Poor’s downwardly revised its outlook for Italy’s credit ratings to negative from stable. S&P said that the move reflects its views of the heightened downside risks in the government’s debt reduction plan.

The announcement from S&P came after Fitch Ratings lowered its credit ratings on Greece to B+ from BB+. Fitch said the downgrade was partly due to concerns that Greece will need to undertake further austerity measures to reach the goal of reducing the 2011 budget deficit to 7.5 percent of GDP.

Nearly all thirty of the Dow components ended the day in negative territory, contributing to the steep loss posted by the blue chip index. Fast food giant McDonald’s (MCD) was the only Dow component to end the day in positive territory, edging up by 0.2 percent.

Caterpillar (CAT) turned in one of the Dow’s worst performances, with the construction equipment maker falling by 2.3 percent. Shares of DuPont (DD) also showed a notable move to the downside, sliding by 2.2 percent. Alcoa (AA), United Technologies (UTX), and Boeing (BA) were among the other Dow components that posted significant losses on the day.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are regaining some ground, rising by $1.32 to $99.02 a barrel after plunging $2.40 to $97.70 a barrel in the previous session. Gold futures are also climbing $5.50 to $1,520.90 an ounce after ending Monday’s trading up $6.50 at $1,515.40 an ounce.

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