Stock index futures mixed; Oracle eyed

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.14 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.05 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures flat at 4:36 p.m. EDT (0836 GMT).

Oracle Corp will be in focus after it reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profit after the bell on Monday, releasing the results three days ahead of schedule after news of the pending departure of a senior sales executive fueled concerns that business was stagnating. Shares of the company traded in Frankfurt were up 4.7 percent.

European stocks were mixed on Tuesday morning, with euro zone peripheral shares losing ground ahead of a key debt auction by Spain, set to issue between 2 billion and 3 billion euros ($2.52 billion-$3.79 billion) of 12- and 18-month debt.

The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds hit a fresh high of above 7 percent on Monday, a key threshold above which borrowing costs become too expensive for a country to afford over the long term. Such levels have previously led to bailouts in Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The Group of 20 leading and emerging economies will "take the necessary actions" to strengthen the global economy, and if growth weakens substantially, countries without heavy debt loads stand ready to stimulate their economies, according to a draft communiqué from the G0 summit.

Microsoft Corp introduced its own line of tablet computers on Monday at a much-hyped press event in Los Angeles, marking a major strategic shift for the software giant as it struggles to compete with Apple Inc and re-invent its aging Windows franchise.

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts , the private equity company, has bought hedge fund money manager Prisma Capital Partners LP, marking the latest move by the private equity sector to boost assets by bolting on smaller funds-of-funds shops.

Julius Baer is in talks with Bank of America about buying Merrill Lynch's non-U.S. wealth management unit, reported to be worth up to $2 billion and which would see the acquisition-hungry Swiss private bank land another big deal.

JPMorgan Chase & Co will provide an update on its chief investment office (CIO) when it reports second-quarter financial results on July 13.

Goldman Sachs has paid for the bulk of former board member Rajat Gupta's legal defense in an insider trading case that ended in his conviction, the New York Times reported, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

On the macro front, investors awaited housing starts and permits for May. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 720,000 annualized rate for starts versus 717,000 in April, and a total of 728,000 permits compared with 723,000 in the prior month.

The Nasdaq advanced on Monday, propelled by a rally in Apple and other big-cap tech stocks, but fears Europe's debt crisis is in danger of worsening limited broader gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 25.28 points, or 0.20 percent, at 12,741.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 1.94 points, or 0.14 percent, at 1,344.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 22.53 points, or 0.78 percent, at 2,895.33.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Catherine Evans)