Global Growth Worries Weigh Down US Stock Futures

The U.S. stock index futures point to a lower open Tuesday as investor sentiment continue to be weighed down by concerns over the declining global growth rate.

The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.20 percent, the futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were down 0.11 percent and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index were down 0.23 percent.

The IMF has lowered the global growth forecast, citing the debt crisis affecting the euro zone and the faltering U.S. economy. According to the World Economic Outlook released by the IMF Tuesday, the global economy will grow 3.3 percent in 2012, down from 3.5 percent growth it announced in July.

"A key issue is whether the global economy is just hitting another bout of turbulence in what was always expected to be a slow and bumpy recovery or whether the current slowdown has a more lasting component," the report said.

The IMF also gave the warning that policymakers in the U.S. and Europe would have to take necessary measures on an urgent basis to avert a further decline in the growth. “The answer depends on whether European and U.S. policy makers deal proactively with their major short-term economic challenges,” the report added.

On Monday, the U.S. markets fell as investors continued to have concerns about the weakening global economic conditions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.19 percent, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.35 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.76 percent.

European markets rose Tuesday as investor sentiment turned positive with hopes that Greece would shortly receive the required bailout fund from European Central Bank (ECB). German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens Tuesday. They are expected to discuss the austerity measures which Greece should implement to receive the bailout fund.

On the fiscal front, Greece made some progress in its budget for 2013 with measures to reduce the deficit from 6.6 percent of GDP to 4.2 percent. But it is likely that there will be need for additional wage and pension cuts in return for signing off the fiscal package.

London's FTSE 100 was up 9.77 points, Germany's DAX 30 index rose 13.69 points and France's CAC 40 advanced 13.69 points.

Most of the Asian markets rose Tuesday though investor optimism about the stimulus measures reviving the global economy was undermined after the IMF raised concerns about the global economic growth.