* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average , Nasdaq and S&P 500 share indexes are up between 0.3 and 0.5 percent, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.
Stocks slid more than 3 percent on Monday after weak results from Bank of America reignited concerns over the state of the banking industry and the economy.
* European shares were higher with Tesco leading retailers up, the day after investors worried that the recent strong run of corporate earnings was not sustainable.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was up 0.7 percent at 791.68 points, having recovered from a low of 781.80.
* Analysts expect The New York Times to post a drop in quarterly advertising revenue when it reports results later in the day.
* Yahoo's quarterly report comes amid speculation that it is preparing to lay off several hundred workers in a first round of cuts since Chief Executive Carol Bartz took office in January. Analysts expect Yahoo to earn 8 cents a share, excluding items, down from 11 cents a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.
* Analysts predict Caterpillar , the world's No.1 maker of building equipment, to be the first blue-chip industrial to report a quarterly loss in this downturn.
* Wells Fargo , the fourth-larget U.S. bank, is expected to report roughly a $3 billion profit, in line with its April 9 forecast.
* Merck reports its first quarterly results since announcing its $41 billion acquisition of New Jersey rival Schering-Plough . Analysts expect it to earn 78 cents a share, excluding items, down from 89 cents a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.
* Bank of New York Mellon , the largest U.S. custodial bank, is expected to post lower quarterly profit, with attention focused on asset management fees. Investors will seek signs of how well the company might weather a decline in client asset values, and how quickly it might be expected to repay its capital infusions from the government.
* Industrial United Technologies reports first-quarter earnings. Analysts expect a sharp drop in earnings as recession hammers demand for aircraft components and air conditioners.
* At 1255 GMT, the Redbook Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for April versus March will be released. In the prior period, sales rose 1.9 percent.
* International Business Machines Corp traded down 2 percent in Frankfurt, following first-quarter results that were released after the bell on Monday.
* Texas Instruments Inc rose more than 3 percent in Frankfurt, after results topped estimates overnight.
