Advancers

UK bank Alliance & Leicester advanced 3.8% after UBS initiated coverage of the stock with a buy’ rating and raised its price target.

Search software company Autonomy Corp gained 3.1% after it completed the demerger of its consumer business and the pricing of the placing of new ordinary shares in Blinkx.

SSL International advanced 1.9% after reporting pretax profit of 46.9 million pounds.

Decliners

GlaxoSmithKline extended losses made at the end of the previous session. Shares in the drug group fell 3.4% as Cazenove and Deutsche Bank both cut their recommendations on the stock and Morgan Stanley cut its price target.

Marks & Spencer announced a 28.5% increase in full year profits and added it would create 10,000 new jobs over the next three years, but the shares fell 2.5 % in early trading.

Shares in software group LogicaCMG declined nearly 9% after the software company warned revenues would be lower this year than last year.

British Airways dipped 1.7% following its statement that it had joined a consortium to investigate a possible offer for Spanish airline Iberia. BA said it had previously ruled out further capital investment as part of any consortium offer and will not make an independent bid for the airline.


9:00AM Stock futures pointed to a higher opening, supported by gaming stocks.

U.S. stock futures moved to the upside on Tuesday, lifted by strength among gaming and leisure stocks on the back of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's offer to buy two Las Vegas properties owned by MGM Mirage. Among casino stocks, MGM Mirage (MGM: chart) jumped 23% in pre-market trading, Wynn Resorts (WYNN: chart) rose 4.2%, and Las Vegas Sands (LVS: chart) added 4.4%. Investors were also watching for developments in economic talks between China and the U.S.

Several retail companies posted quarterly earnings before the opening bell. Zale Corp. (ZLC: chart) said quarterly loss narrowed and forecast a loss for the current quarter. Staples (SPLS: chart), the world's largest office supplies retailer, posted 12.4% quarterly profit rise, driven by higher sales and continued growth in its copy and print service businesses. The Pacific Sunware (PSUN: chart) climbed 5% in pre-market trading after it said Q1 sales surpassed expectations. Tech Data (TECD: chart) reported a 23% drop in profit, but 9% sales growth. Autozone (AZO: chart) said profit rose 5%, while sales rose 4%. S&P 500 rose 2.3 points to 1,525, the Nasdaq Composite rose 20 points while the Dow industrials ended 13 points lower.


8:30AM Asian markets mostly advance on Tuesday with China leading advancers.

Asian markets mostly advanced on Tuesday. The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both Class A and B shares, ended up 0.9% at 4,110.38. Property stocks advanced on hopes of an increase in the pace of yuan rise after Beijing announced Friday that it was widening the daily trading range of the yuan against the U.S. dollar. A firmer yuan means an increase in the value of yuan-denominated assets, such as property.

The most actively traded property companies were China Vanke, which rose 4.8%, Shanghai New Huangpu Real Estate, which soared 10%, the daily limit, and Beijing North Star, which added 1.8%.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average in Tokyo ended up 0.7% at 17,680.05. Upbeat earnings guidance released Monday by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group lifted banking shares. Shares in the company jumped 5.7% after it said that it hopes its group net profit to rise this fiscal year after posting a 36% decline last fiscal year. Mizuho Financial Group gained 4.4% ahead of its earnings release after the market close Tuesday.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group rose 3%. NEC soared 7.3% after the Japanese electronics company announced Monday that it aims to lift its group net profit to 30 billion yen this fiscal year. Sony continued rising on its solid earnings outlook released last week, finishing up 3% following an 8.8% advance over the past four sessions.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index in HK fell 83.83 points, or 0.4%, to 20,843.92, having struck 21020.42 in the morning. The Hang Seng Index two biggest constituents by market capitalization both fell. HSBC dropped 0.3% and China Mobile slipped 0.7%.