U.S. stock index futures signal small rise at open

PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - * U.S. stock index futures
pointed to slight gains at the open on Wall Street on Tuesday,
with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.17 percent, Dow Jones
futures up 0.22 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up
0.28 percent at 0820 GMT.
* European shares halted a three-day rally and oil dipped on
Tuesday as investors sensed that a recent sharp rally built on
anticipation of bold stimulus measures from central banks in the
United States and Europe may have been overdone.
* U.S. and European equities have been boosted by mounting
expectation that the European Central Bank will revive its bond
buying programme to help lower the borrowing costs of
debt-stricken Spain and Italy, while the Federal Reserve has
been under renewed pressure to support flagging growth. Both
central banks hold policy meetings this week.
* On the economic side, investors awaited U.S. personal
income data, due at 1230 GMT, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price
index for May, due at 1300 GMT, and U.S. consumer confidence
numbers for July, due at 1400 GMT.
* On the earnings front, a raft of companies are due to
report results, including Aetna, Electronic Arts,
Goodyear, Pfizer and Valero Energy.
* Car rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc
posted a quarterly profit that beat market expectations as
margins improved. Strong demand from business and leisure
travelers is boosting business at U.S. hotels and airlines, in
turn helping car rental companies.
* Eastman Chemical Co posted quarterly profit on
Monday that beat forecasts, as lower supply costs helped offset
a drop in demand for specialty plastics.
* The recent ouster of General Motors Co's global
marketing chief is related to a hugely expensive sponsorship
deal with England's Manchester United soccer club for which GM
is paying twice as much as the team's previous automotive
sponsor.
* Japanese electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp
posted a better-than-expected rise in quarterly operating profit
on Tuesday, boosted by strong overseas earnings in its social
infrastructure division despite sluggish chip sales.

* Japan's Panasonic Corp reaped a near sevenfold
gain in quarterly profit after slashing costs, and its new boss
looks set to use that extra cash for a new round of layoffs and
business restructuring to revive the electronics giant.

* Toyota Motor Corp is set to raise its 2012 global
sales forecast to 8.8 million vehicles from the 8.58 million it
had announced in February as it sees solid auto sales in
emerging economies, Yomiuri newspaper reported on Tuesday.

* Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest
brewer, fell short of second-quarter earnings expectations due
to the expense of marketing new U.S. brands and higher transport
costs there and in Brazil, but it forecast improvements in the
second half.
* U.S. stocks finished flat on Monday as investors paused
following the best two-day run this year, with central bank
meetings and a full load of U.S. economic data looming.
* The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 2.65
points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,073.01 at the close. The Standard
& Poor's 500 Index edged down just 0.67 of a point, or
0.05 percent, to 1,385.30. The Nasdaq Composite Index
fell 12.25 points, or 0.41 percent, to end at 2,945.84.