U.S. Stock Index Futures Rise; AT&T Eyed

December 20, 2011 4:31 AM EST

(Reuters) -- U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.5 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.3 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.4 percent at 0819 GMT.

* European stocks were slightly down in morning trade, extending their two-week slide on nagging concerns about the region's debt crisis after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi quashed hopes for more aggressive bond purchases.

* AT&T (T.N) will be in the spotlight after saying it has dropped its controversial $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) U.S. wireless unit, bowing to fierce regulatory opposition and leaving both companies scrambling for alternatives.

* Business software maker Red Hat Inc (RHT.N) forecast fourth-quarter revenue largely below analysts' expectations hurt mainly by a weaker euro, sending its shares down 7 percent in after-market trade.

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* Apple Inc (AAPL.O) scored a narrow victory against Taiwan's HTC Corp (2498.TW) in a patent lawsuit over smartphone technology that will set the stage for further battles between rival makers in the fiercely competitive market.

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* ConocoPhillips (COP.N) on Monday won a key permit that will allow construction of an oil field that is expected to provide the first-ever production from the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska on the western North Slope.

* Sempra Energy (SRE.N) said it expects to exceed its 2011 profit forecast helped by strong performance across all its businesses.

* The U.S. Coast Guard was investigating a 13,000-gallon spill from an oil rig leased to Shell (RDSa.L), operating about 26 miles southeast of last year's BP Plc (BP.L) (BP.N) Macondo oil well disaster, a Coast Guard spokesman said on Monday.

* On the macro front, investors are awaiting housing starts and permits data for November. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 635,000 annualized rate versus 628,000 in October, and a total of 635,000 permits compared with 644,000 in October.

* Banks dragged the U.S. stock market lower on Monday, with losses accelerating late after Bank of America's stock price fell below $5 for the first time in nearly three years.

* The Dow Jones industrial average finance/markets/index?symbol=us%21dji">.DJI was down 100.13 points, or 0.84 percent, at 11,766.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 14.31 points, or 1.17 percent, at 1,205.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 32.19 points, or 1.26 percent, at 2,523.14.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson, Editing by Mark Potter)