U.S. stock index futures point to lower open

* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 SPc1, Dow Jones DJc1 and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 down 0.9-1.1 percent.

* European shares fell in early trade on Tuesday, losing ground for the sixth time in nine sessions, as poor results from UBS (UBSN.VX) and a shake-up of LLoyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) rattled investors.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was down 1.6 percent at 964.51 points.

* On the earnings front, Kraft (KFT) was due to report third-quarter numbers and forecast to earn 48 cents per share, up from 45 cents a year ago.

* Quarterly results were also expected from MasterCard (MA), with analysts forecasting the company to earn $2.93 a share compared to $2.47 a year ago.

* Viacom (VIAb) is also reporting third-quarter figures. Analysts in a Reuters survey expect the company to earn 57 cents a share compared to 55 cents a year ago.

* Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) is reporting second-quarter numbers, with analysts in a Reuters expected the company to report an earnings per share of $1.31 compared to $1.62.

* Shares of Ford Motor (F.N) fell 4.5 percent after the bell on Monday after it said it was seeking to raise additional capital with a convertible debt offering and an equity distribution plan. [ID:nWNAB8594]

* Shares of Black & Decker (BDK.N) gained 18 percent while Stanley Works (SWK.N) rose 0.8 percent after the bell on Monday after an announcement of plans to merge. [ID:nN02462103]

* In economic news, Redbook releases at 1355 GMT its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for October versus September. In the prior period, sales were up 1.8 percent.

* The Commerce Department releases September factory orders at 1500 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expected orders to rise 0.8 percent compared with a 0.8 percent fall the prior month.

* The Federal Open Market Committee begins the first day of a two-day meeting on interest rate policy where they are expected to keep interest rates close to zero.

* Pensions rose an average of 19 percent in 2008 for top executives, with more than 200 seeing increases of more than 50 percent, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.

* U.S. stocks rose on Monday after another round of solid economic reports but pulled off session highs after a Federal Reserve official's warning about banks' loan losses. [ID:nN02464128]

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 0.8 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX climbed 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 0.2 percent. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Dan Lalor)