North American stock futures pointed toward a sharply lower open on Wednesday as financial markets around the world responded to a wave of negative economic news and corporate earnings. Toronto's S&P/TSE index was trading 4.7% lower as commodity prices retreated across the board. U.S. crude oil futures fell below US$70 a barrel, while London copper futures were down nearly 4% -- their weakest in almost three years. BHP Billiton, the world's biggest miner, added to downward sentiment overnight by saying growth in China, its most important customer, had "softened" in the last quarter, and warned of more volatility in the short term in its quarterly production review. American futures indices were also down. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were more than 2.5% lower while the benchmark S&P 500 stock futures were off more than 3% by 7:45 a.m. EST. The euro fell to a 20-month low against the U.S. dollar while the pound declined to a five-year low, according to Bloomberg data, after the the Bank of England said the U.K. is "probably" in recession. A flurry of worse-than-expected corporate earnings reports also helped drag futures lower. Texas Instruments Inc. warned of slowing sales for the U.S. tech company's analog chips, while chemical and plastics maker DuPont Co. cut its full-year guidance. Construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. also missed profit expectations. The broad declines follow routes across global equity markets on Wednesday, as Asia, Europe and emerging market exchanges all witnessed broad sell-offs.

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