* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average DJc1, S&P 500 SPc1 and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 rise 0.2-0.3 percent, pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street on Tuesday.
* At 1145 GMT, ICSC/Goldman Sachs will release chain store sales for the week ended Aug. 8. In the previous week, sales fell 0.2 percent.
* The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting on interest rate policy.
* Labor Department is scheduled to release, at 1230 GMT, preliminary Q2 Productivity and Unit Labour Costs. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a rise of 5.3 percent versus a rise of 1.6 percent in Q1. Unit Labor Costs are seen down 2.4 percent compared with a 3.0 percent fall.
* At 1255 GMT, Redbook releases its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for August versus July. In the prior period, sales fell 1.6 percent. * Commerce Department releases at 1400 GMT wholesale inventories for June. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast inventories to fall by 0.9 percent in June versus a decline of 0.8 percent in May.
* At 2100 GMT, ABC News releases its consumer comfort index for the week ended Aug. 9. In the previous week, the index read -49.
* Commodity shares will be in focus after crude oil CLc1 rose 0.5 percent to trade around $71 a barrel, copper MCU3 rose 1.6 percent and aluminium MAL3 jumped more than 2 percent.
* China reported below-forecast growth in factory output and investment, Britain's goods trade gap with the rest of the world widened slightly more than expected in June and Germany's harmonised consumer price index for July was revised down sharply. [ID:nONS004419] [ID:nPEK328668] [ID:nLB615370]
* The total value of distressed-debt deals, where creditors use their debt positions to take ownership of troubled companies, has touched $84.4 billion this year, the Wall Street Journal said, at a pace close to double that of 2008. [ID:nBNG162908]
* Shares of Rino International Corp (RINO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 18.2 percent after the closing bell on Monday after the company reported results. [ID:nWNBB3195]
* Shares of Seattle Genetics (SGEN.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) declined 8.8 percent after the close after it announced a proposed public offering of common stock. [ID:nWNBB3086]
* Shares of Quest Software Inc (QSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 5.8 percent to $15.80 after the closing bell on Monday after it released second-quarter results. [ID:nWNBB3067]
* The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was 0.4 percent higher at 948.14 points on Tuesday. It has gained 14 percent in 2009 and is up 47 percent since reaching a record low in early March.
* U.S. stocks fell on Monday, but were off their session lows, as investors booked profits following a four-week rally that took the broad S&P 500 index to a 10-month high on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI lost 32.12 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 9,337.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 3.38 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,007.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 8.01 points, or 0.40 percent, to 1,992.24. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by David Holmes)
