Stock index futures slip

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.44 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.35 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.1 percent at 0918 GMT (5:18 a.m. EDT).

Research In Motion will be in the spotlight after it unveiled a tablet computer aimed at its core business customers, as it tries to gain a foothold in a fast-growing market dominated by Apple's consumer-friendly iPad.

Shares in financial institutions will also be in focus after London-based Man Group said clients pulled out assets for an eighth straight quarter, confounding hopes that a recovery in its flagship fund would help it follow the wider hedge fund industry and attract investors once again. Man said clients withdrew a net $600 million in the three months to September.

European shares dropped 1 percent in morning trade, dragged by persistent worries over sovereign debt levels in peripheral euro zone countries, and with nervousness lingering ahead of macro data.

Standard & Poor's warned on Tuesday it may cut Ireland's credit rating again due to the rising cost of recapitalizing nationalized Anglo Irish Bank , pushing Dublin's borrowing costs to fresh peaks.

On the macro front, investors will keep an eye on the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index, as well as the Conference Board's monthly consumer confidence data.

Pfizer Inc discontinued a late stage study of its Sutent for advanced prostate cancer after it became clear that the drug was unlikely to improve overall survival, the company said on Monday.

Oracle Corp has sued Micron Technology Inc for fixing prices of computer memory chips, in a continuance of litigation it inherited from Sun Microsystems.

Technology distributor Jabil Circuit Inc's quarterly revenue missed Wall Street expectations, and the company forecast first-quarter 2011 sales below estimates, sending its shares down 2 percent in extended trade.

U.S. stocks slipped on Monday as investors took a break from a four-week rally, but they remained optimistic the advance would resume as a flurry of deals suggested companies were seeing value in the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 48.22 points, or 0.44 percent, at 10,812.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 6.51 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,142.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 11.45 points, or 0.48 percent, at 2,369.77.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)