IBT Staff Reporter

Stock index futures pointed to a rise of nearly one percent on Tuesday after better-than-expected results from Alcoa Inc and CSX Corp gave a promising start to the earnings season.

Small businesses grew more pessimistic about their economic outlook in June in the face of weak sales and political uncertainty, the National Federal of Independent Businesses said on Tuesday.

Greece passed its first borrowing test on Tuesday since a giant EU/IMF funding deal in May, sending bank stocks and the euro higher after it easily sold 1.625 billion euros ($2.03 billion) of 6-month T-bills. The debt-ridden country managed to get market funding at a slightly cheaper cost than the 5.0 percent it pays to borrow under the 110 billion euro loan that the European Union and International Monetary Fund put in place to calm a crisis that has shaken the euro zone.

The trade deficit widened unexpectedly in May, led by a big jump in imports from China that helped overpower the best month for U.S. exports since September 2008, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Nissan Motor Co is looking into whether it would need to halt production in the United States due to a delay in supplies from Hitachi Ltd that will disrupt some production in Japan for three days

Alcoa Inc , the largest U.S. aluminum producer, posted a stronger-than-expected second-quarter profit on Monday and raised its estimate for global aluminum consumption, sending its shares up 3 percent.

Iran's government has sold an 18 percent stake in Iran Khodro, the Middle East's biggest carmaker, for 13.59 trillion rials ($1.3 billion),

Electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc said on Friday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp to deliver two electric vehicles to the world's largest automaker by the end of month.

Moody's Investor Service cut Portugal's debt rating by two notches on Tuesday, saying its growth prospects were weak and it might need new austerity measures next year to hit tough fiscal targets.

U.S. advisers began weighing the fate of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's diabetes pill Avandia on Tuesday at a two-day meeting that will consider if the medicine is too dangerous to stay on the market.

A leading EU official on Tuesday urged full disclosure on how the region's banks perform in stress tests, but sources said the bloc's finance ministers remained divided on what data should be published.

Shares in oil major BP rose 2.7 percent on Tuesday, taking their bounce this month to 28 percent, on signs the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be contained and on hopes of asset disposals.

Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday after better-than-expected results from Alcoa Inc and CSX Corp gave a promising start to the earnings season.

The euro pared losses on Tuesday after a smooth Greek treasury bill auction offset the negative effects of an earlier ratings downgrade on Portugal. Greece's Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) sold 1.625 billion euros ($2.03 billion) of 6-month T-bills on Tuesday at a cheaper cost than it pays to borrow under its 110 billion euro EU/IMF rescue fund, and marking its first debt auction since the backstop was agreed in May.

A new domestic AIDS policy rolled out by the White House on Tuesday looks for new ways to educate people about the deadly and incurable virus, from social media to scientifically sound school campaigns.

Last week, Commodity Online had reported that several central banks had pawned their gold reserves to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to raise cash and this may impact the gold market in the coming days.

Stock index futures were higher on Tuesday after better-than-expected results from Alcoa Inc and CSX Corp gave a promising start to the earnings season.

The euro recovered on Tuesday after Greece successfully returned to capital markets for the first time since late April, while global equities advanced after Alcoa delivered a strong start to the earnings season.

Banks in Florida are requesting that U.S. federal regulators exempt them from mandatory higher capital requirements because they are struggling to cope with the BP oil spill, the Wall Street Journal said.

The International Monetary Fund's chief reiterated on Tuesday that strong growth in Asia and Latin America made it unlikely that the global economy would suffer a double-dip recession.

Credit rating agencies are growing impatient with Japan's inability to tackle its ballooning public debt, a task just made more difficult by the ruling party's drubbing in upper house elections at the weekend. The result means that Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority so will need help from other parties to get bills, such as on tax reform, passed.

A new domestic AIDS policy rolled out by the White House on Tuesday looks for new ways to educate people about the deadly and incurable virus, from social media to scientifically sound school campaigns.

China will fine companies up to 2 million yuan ($295,400) for sending misleading or fake information about price increases, according to a new draft regulation by China's economic planning agency.

The euro fell while Bund futures jumped on Tuesday as ratings firm Moody's cut Portugal's rating to A1 with a stable outlook.

The euro fell on Tuesday after a two-notch downgrade of Portugal's sovereign debt rating and ahead of Greece's return to capital markets for the first time since late April.

A heated three-year safety debate about a GlaxoSmithKline Plc diabetes pill reaches a climax this week as opponents and backers face off at a U.S. meeting that will help decide the drug's fate.

The board of American International Group is set to meet this week to consider the future of its AIA unit, with a public float seen as the most likely outcome, sources said on Tuesday.

Gold prices edged up in Asian trade Tuesday mainly on investor's buying interest after prices dropped below the psychological barrier of $1200 an ounce. Gold for immediate delivery was seen trading at $ 1199.58 an ounce at 12.30 p.m Singapore time while U.S. gold futures for August delivery was at $ 1199.47 an ounce on the Comex in New York.

Asian shares surrendered early gains on Tuesday, weighed down by Chinese stocks, which slid on reports that Beijing will not relax tougher property measures any time soon.