Worries ease on Wall Street

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Stock futures pointed to a slight recovery Tuesday but jitters about the housing sector could spark another day of volatile trading.

At 4:30 a.m. ET, futures were a tad higher, with a comparison to fair value pointing to a positive opening for U.S. stocks.

Wall Street rallied Monday but gave up those gains amid renewed fears about big losses by hedge funds invested in securities backed by subprime mortgages.

The latest look on the battered real estate market could set the tone on Tuesday. The Commerce Department is due to release a report on May new home sales after the market open.

In global trade, European shares fell at the open, and most markets in Asia finished the session lower.

In major corporate news, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (Charts, Fortune 500) and Dow Jones (Charts) could announce a deal over the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal as early as today, the Journal reported.

Such an agreement would pave the way for News Corp. to buy Dow Jones. News Corp. has made a $5 billion bid for Dow Jones, but issues of editorial integrity have been a major obstacle in takeover talks.