U.S. stock futures point to higher open

* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.8 percent, Dow Jones futures 0.8 percent higher, and Nasdaq 100 up 1.1 percent at 0903 GMT.

* The U.S. Chicago PMI for March is due at 1345 GMT with economists in a Reuters survey forecasting a reading of 34.5 in the month compared with 35.2 in February.

* U.S. consumer confidence due out at 1400 GMT is expected to have edged up in March from the record low hit in February. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 28.0 compared with 25.0 in February.

* Bookseller Borders posts quarterly results. Analysts expect the company to earn 95 cents a share, excluding items, down from $1.44 a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.

* No. 2 U.S. homebuilder Lennar Corp reports fiscal first-quarter results. Analysts, on average, expect a deeper net loss as the company scrambles to sell off inventory in the face of a prolonged U.S. recession. They expect the company to post a loss of 69 cents.

* Shares in American Electric Power fell 4 percent in extended trade after the company cut its guidance to below Wall Street estimates and scaled back capital spending plans for next year.

* The Wall Street Journal reported Google is expected to announce more detail about its highly anticipated venture-capital fund, including its plan to commit roughly $100 million to the endeavor in its first year, said people familiar with the matter.

* Goldman Sachs banker Byron Trott, one of Warren Buffett's main deal makers, is leaving to start his own merchant-banking firm, according to people familiar with the matter, and Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway plans to invest in the entity, reported the Wall Street Journal.

* The Wall Street Journal said Eli Lilly & Co Chief Executive John Lechleiter said the drug maker is looking for acquisitions of as much as $15 billion now it has digested ImClone Systems.

* U.S. stocks tumbled on Monday as two major U.S. automakers took a step closer to potential bankruptcy, and a spate of European bank rescues heightened concerns over the financial system's health, putting the brakes on a recent run-up.

* On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> lost 3.27 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> tumbled 3.48 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 2.81 percent.

* Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.5 percent on Tuesday, with banks and insurers down, but the mood was more optimistic in Europe, where the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was up 1.3 percent in a broad rally.

(Additional reporting Blaise Robinson)

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Dan Lalor)