Stock index futures signal early gains

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.07 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.22 percent at 0933 GMT.

European stocks gained ground on Tuesday morning as investors were buoyed by the latest batch of U.S. data and earnings and were hopeful a meeting of European leaders later in the week can advance plans to tackle Spain and Greece's debts.

Investors awaited results from bellwethers such as Goldman Sachs , IBM and Intel , seeking further insight on the impact from the global slowdown on corporate results.

Federal Reserve officials offered divergent opinions on Monday about the correct stance for monetary policy, differing most sharply on the inflation risk posed by the central bank's massive efforts to buoy U.S. growth.

Sprint Nextel Corp or Softbank Corp <9984.T> would have to pay up to $600 million in termination fees, if either party pulls out of the $20.1 billion deal for the Japanese mobile operator to buy the U.S. wireless carrier.

Chipmaker Microchip Technology Inc said second-quarter revenue was likely below its earlier estimates due to soft demand in the chipmaking industry.

Bankrate Inc , which operates personal finance websites, warned its quarterly earnings would fall well short of Wall Street expectations due to declining insurance referrals, sending its shares tumbling 25 percent.

Watson Pharmaceuticals has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Swiss peer Actavis Inc on the condition that it sell a number of their current and future products to two other companies, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday.

General Dynamics Corp has won a contract valued at $459 million for continued design and support work on U.S. nuclear submarines through September 2013, the Pentagon announced on Monday.

Lubricants maker WD-40 Co reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter results due to a fall in sales in Europe, and the company forecast fiscal 2013 results below analysts' estimates. Shares of WD-40 were down 9 percent at $46.60 after the bell on Monday. They closed at $51.34 on the Nasdaq.

Starbucks Corp's U.S. stores on Tuesday will begin selling the coffee chain's new Verismo coffee and espresso brewer, which aims to grab a piece of the fast-growing single-serve market dominated by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc and Nestle SA .

The state-owned developer of the huge Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit in Mongolia has invited U.S. miner Peabody Energy to help build infrastructure and be a temporary mine contractor on the project ahead of a much-delayed bidding process, a senior company official said.

Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc said it will hire more than 50,000 seasonal employees at its fulfillment centers across the United States, as the company and its rivals gear up for the winter holiday season.

French aerospace firm Safran said it had agreed to buy the electrical power systems activities of Goodrich, owned by United Technologies , for around 310 million euros ($401 million) in cash.

Europe's new car market shrank at the fastest pace in the past 12 months in September, leaving nearly all major brands nursing double-digit declines, as tight household budgets kept drivers away from showrooms. New car registrations in the European Union dropped 10.8 percent last month to 1.10 million vehicles, data published by Brussels-based industry group ACEA showed on Tuesday.

Oil steadied above $115 on Tuesday, underpinned by supply concerns after the European Union slapped more sanctions on Iran, while ample supplies and hefty stockpiles in top consumer the United States capped gains.

U.S. stocks climbed on Monday, rebounding from last week's losses after Citigroup's earnings and retail sales sharply exceeded expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 95.38 points, or 0.72 percent, to 13,424.23 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 11.54 points, or 0.81 percent, to finish at 1,440.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 20.07 points, or 0.66 percent, to close at 3,064.18.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson. Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)