Source: The Canadian Press

North American stock markets were poised for a lower open Tuesday after a key report on the U.S. housing market showed the economy remains weak.

Construction of new homes and apartments in June dropped 5% to a seasonally adjusted 549,000, the lowest level since October, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Disappointing quarterly revenues at two key U.S. companies — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) and IBM Corp. (NYSE:IBM) — are also expected to push markets lower.

In the thick of the U.S. earnings season, traders seem to be focused more on revenue growth and forecasts for future improvement than on profits. That’s because economic reports in recent months have shown the recovery is slowing south of the border, so there is concern about where future sales growth will come from.

With net income of US$3.39 billion, up 9%, IBM (NYSE:IBM) beat earnings expectations in the second quarter and raised its guidance for the year. However, the company’s revenue of $23.7 billion fell below the $24.2 billion that analysts expected.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs’ (NYSE:GS) net income fell 83% to US$453 million as its trading revenue dropped and it booked a charge for its settlement of a civil fraud suit with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company’s revenue fell 36% to $8.84 billion due in part to lower trading revenue.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones fell 0.7%. S&P 500 index futures dropped 0.7%, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.9%.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.22 of a cent to 95.02 cents US after the Bank of Canada announced that it will raise its key lending rate by a quarter point to 0.75%.

The August crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 52 cents to US$76.02 a barrel, while the August bullion contract fell 50 cents to US$1,181.40 an ounce.

In Canadian corporate news, Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) announced at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain that several customers have ordered a total of 10 jets worth nearly $500 million.

Air Canada (TSX:AC.A) said it will grow its system capacity more aggressively this year than previously expected, primarily because of an increase in international flying. The Montreal-based airline says it now expects to grow its overall fleet capacity by as much as 7.5% this year, compared to an earlier estimate of between four and 6%.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Germany’s DAX index fell 1%, and France’s CAC-40 fell 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 1.2%.