Stock index futures mixed as retail sales eyed

PARIS ( Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.05 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.08 percent at 4 a.m. EDT.

August retail sales data is due at 1230 GMT. Economists expect a 0.3 percent rise compared with a 0.4 percent increase in July. The market is also expected to keep an eye on data on business inventories for July, due at 1400 GMT.

Japan's Nikkei index dipped from a three-week closing high hit the day before as the yen rose to a 15-year high against the dollar, while European stocks were mostly unchanged in morning trade after reaching 4-1/2 month highs in the previous session.

Oil was steady near one-month highs above $77 a barrel ahead of inventory reports which are expected to show crude stock draws as the shutdown of the biggest Canada-U.S. pipeline enters a fifth day.

Shares in vehicle and vehicle parts makers will be eyed after Toyota Motor Corp's <7203.T> executives said on Monday it will offer a plug-in version of its Prius, positioned to be the cheapest green car of its kind by 2012, and could have two electric cars in the U.S. market by that time.

Oil stocks were expected to be in focus after BP and partners in the ruptured Macondo Gulf well said on Monday that thousands of fishermen, seafood processors, restaurants, hotel owners and others may not yet have the right to sue over the spill, according to court papers. BP and its partners such as Transocean Ltd and Halliburton Co said the majority of alleged victims who have brought about 400 lawsuits must first take their claims to a $20 billion fund established by BP.

Dutch group Philips Electronics said on Tuesday it wants to grow faster than the economy, firming its profitability targets, while keeping its three-pillar strategy.

U.S. stocks advanced to their highest levels in five weeks on Monday, taking the S&P 500 index near the top of its summer range on upbeat Chinese factory data and new global banking rules.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 81.36 points, or 0.78 percent, to 10,544.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> climbed 12.35 points, or 1.11 percent, to 1,121.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> jumped 43.23 points, or 1.93 percent, to 2,285.71.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Greg Mahlich)