Wall Street looked set to open slightly lower on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.07 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.07 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.01 percent at 4:21 a.m. E.D.T. (0821 GMT)

Federal Reserve policymakers on Monday signaled little appetite for further monetary steps to stimulate U.S. growth in an economy that is gradually strengthening.

European Union regulators want banks to restructure so they can wean themselves off cheap central bank loans and attract their own funding from investors and markets.

The U.S. futures regulator accused the Royal Bank of Canada of running a trading scheme of massive proportion to gain lucrative Canadian tax benefits.

Japan's Olympus Corp <7733.T> may be able to recover from a $1.7 billion accounting fraud without raising capital, despite interest in an equity alliance from several investors including electronics giant Sony, its nominee president said on Tuesday.

GlaxoSmithKline will push ahead with plans to file its experimental once-weekly diabetes drug albiglutide for regulatory approval, following the read-out from a series of clinical trials.

Coty Inc disclosed on Monday it had offered $10 billion for Avon Products Inc but the larger company, which is grappling with sliding sales and a bribery probe, rejected the bid as too low and opportunistic.

Illumina Inc said on Monday that its board unanimously rejected Roche Holding's increased offer to buy the genetic sequencing company for $51 per share, or about $6.7 billion, saying it dramatically undervalued the company.

Private equity firm Longreach Group has hired Morgan Stanley to explore the sale of its majority stake in Taiwanese lender EnTie Commercial Bank Ltd <2849.TW>.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into Groupon Inc's revision of its financial results, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

On the macro front, the U.S. Commerce Dept releases February factory orders at 1400 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 1.5 percent rise compared with a January decrease of 1.0 percent.

ICSC/Goldman Sachs release chain store sales for the week ended March 30 versus the prior week. In the previous week, sales fell 0.5 percent.

Redbook releases its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for March versus February. In the prior period, sales rose 0.5 percent.

U.S. automakers release March auto sales. Economists in a Reuters survey expect annualized sales of 5.62 million cars and 5.80 million trucks. In February, the figures were 5.846 million cars and 5.854 million trucks.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner presides over an open session of the Financial Stability Oversight Council meeting at 1830 GMT. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, FDIC acting Chair Martin Gruenberg, CFTC Chair Gary Gensler and other senior financial officials will participate.

Japan's Nikkei <.N225> fell 0.6 percent with the yen's climb to a three-week high against the dollar prompting investors to lock in profits on blue-chip exporters that have logged sharp gains since January.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of leading European shares inched lower on Tuesday after their biggest daily gain in three weeks in the previous session, with mining stocks among the biggest fallers.

Stocks started the second quarter with a bang on Monday, with the S&P 500 climbing to a fresh four-year high as manufacturing data from the United States and China helped support the outlook for economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 52.45 points, or 0.40 percent, to 13,264.49 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 10.43 points, or 0.74 percent, to 1,418.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 28.13 points, or 0.91 percent, to 3,119.70.

(Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)