Australia shares seen down on U.S., euro zone uncertainty

MELBOURNE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to
open lower on Tuesday with discouraging U.S. factory orders and
political ructions in Spain and Italy likely to spur more
profit-taking following a 6 percent rally so far this year.

* Stock index futures dropped 0.7 percent to 4,835,
a 72.5-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index
. The benchmark fell 0.3 percent on Monday.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index slipped 0.3
percent to 4,234.5 in early trade.
* U.S. stocks slid on Monday, giving the S&P 500 its worst
day of the year, as renewed worries about the euro zone crisis
caused the market to pull back from recent gains.
* Copper rose on Monday as confidence in the outlook for
growth increased after data pointed to strength in the U.S.
economy and a modest rebound in Chinese factory activity, but
prices slipped from four-month highs as the dollar gained.
* The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to hold the cash
rate steady at 3.0 percent at its first meeting of the year on
Tuesday.
* Bionic ear maker Cochlear is due to release its
first-half results.

----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2103 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG
S&P 500 1495.72 -1.15% -17.450
USD/JPY 92.3 -0.45% -0.420
10-YR US TSY YLD 1.9601 -- -0.065
SPOT GOLD 1673.32 0.41% 6.780
US CRUDE 96.13 -1.68% -1.640
DOW JONES 13880.08 -0.93% -129.71
ASIA ADRS 135.67 -0.93% -1.27
-------------------------------------------------------------

* Wall St pulls back on euro zone jitters
* Oil prices drop on profit-taking after strong run
* Platinum rises on Amplats, car sales reports
* Confidence in growth boosts copper, dollar weighs

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(Australia/New Zealand bureaux; +61 2 9373 1800/+64 4 471
4234)

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Lincoln Feast)