Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.21 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.07 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.13 percent at 4:33 a.m. EST.

FedEx Corp will be in the spotlight after saying late on Monday that its second-quarter earnings would easily beat its previous forecast, citing strong growth in international demand for its air services, especially in Asia and Latin America. Shares in FedEx traded in Frankfurt were up 1.5 percent.

Research in Motion will be in focus after saying it and China Mobile <0941.HK> will offer Blackberry handsets and Internet service to consumers as well as smaller firms in China.

General Motors Co is talking to BAIC, China's fifth-largest car maker, about a partial sale of assets associated with its Saab brand, including tooling and technology, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

November sales at Taiwan's UMC <2303.TW>, the world's No. 2 contract chip maker, showed slower chip sales after tech demand peaked in the third quarter, a trend that could continue into the first quarter next year.

China's passenger cars sales in November jumped 98.23 percent from a year earlier, official data showed, paving the way for roughly 50 percent growth in 2009 thanks to the government's stimulus measures to aid consumption.

James Gorman, who takes over as Morgan Stanley's chief executive on January 1, plans to put finance chief Colm Kelleher and banker Paul Taubman in charge of the company's institutional securities unit, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the situation.

Oil rose back above $74 on Tuesday after a 2 percent fall a day ago, supported by a softer dollar, but forecasts for a build in U.S. crude stocks and slow economic recovery limited gains.

Japan's Nikkei average slipped 0.3 percent on Tuesday to snap a six-day winning streak, with profit-taking and an increase in the yen against the dollar eating away at recent gains made by exporters. In Europe, stocks edged higher in morning trade, with defensive pharmas and utilities offsetting losses in banking shares, hurt by renewed worries over Dubai debt woes.

A Dubai newspaper, citing British bankers, reported that state-controlled Dubai World was discussing with creditors a new date for $3.5 billion in debt maturing on December 14. Dubai's stock benchmark <.DFMGI> sank 6 percent on Tuesday, down around 22 percent in the five trading sessions since Dubai World shocked markets worldwide by asking for a debt standstill as it tries to renegotiate a multi-billon dollar debt pile.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended slightly lower on Monday and the Dow was flat, reversing earlier gains, after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sparked jitters about the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> ended up 1.21 points, or 0.01 percent, at 10,390.11. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 2.73 points, or 0.25 percent, at 1,103.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 4.74 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,189.61.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Rupert Winchester)

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