UNITED STATES

Solid earnings from Ford, 3M Co and United Parcel Service lifted stocks on Tuesday, but the rally to around three-year highs may face a hurdle as the Federal Reserve begins a policy meeting.

United Parcel Service reported a quarterly profit that beat estimates as price hikes stuck, and the world's largest package delivery company raised its 2011 forecast for record results.

House Speaker John Boehner said on Monday that 'there's a chance' a vote to raise the debt limit beyond $14.3 trillion may not happen if President Barack Obama 'doesn't get serious' about handling the nation's fiscal problems.

Months of hype have surrounded the most anticipated day of the year. Later this week, Prince William and Kate Middleton will tie the knot in a ceremony in London.

Coca-Cola Co's quarterly results slightly missed Wall Street estimates, as the Japan earthquake and the timing of marketing expenses overshadowed strong sales volume, and its shares fell 2.3 percent.

Solid earnings from big U.S. companies such as Ford, 3M Co and United Parcel Service lifted stocks on Tuesday, but investors braced for a report on consumer confidence amid concerns about the recent rise in oil prices.

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected earnings from bellwethers, including Ford Motor Co , 3M Co and United Parcel Service , though weakness in Coca-Cola Co limited gains.

Italy and France have called on the international community to cease shipping oil products to the regime of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi and also asked market operators not to purchase Libyan crude oil.

The Gold Price recovered an overnight dip below $1500 per ounce in London on Tuesday, trading less than 1% shy of yesterday's new all-time high at $1518 as European stock markets rose together with major government bonds and energy prices.

The Iranian government has not issued any details about kind of damage the Stars virus did. While Jalali did not accuse the U.S. or Israel directly, he did refer to attacks from the U.S. and Israel on Iranian web sites and Internet infrastructure.

Rep. Ron Paul R-TX, will announce Tuesday he is formally exploring the possibility of running for the U.S. presidency in 2012 and says Washington's leaders are not realistically trying to pay down the United States' $14.3 trillion debt.

The euro zone's overall budget gap fell last year but deficits in Greece and Portugal were higher than expected, underlining the challenges presented by their austerity programs.

A senior leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist group has reportedly been killed in Kunar province, Afghanistan, according to NATO.

The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: USA Technologies, Rediff.com India, Mindspeed Technologies, Sify Technologies, Calamos Asset Management, and Veeco Instruments. The top pre-market NASDAQ Stock Market losers are: Wilshire Bancorp, Lawson Software, ZST Digital Networks, Tellabs, Netflix, and Express Scripts.

Silver and gold tumbled on Tuesday as investors sold on uncertainty about the direction of monetary policy in the United States, but a softer dollar helped support prices and sentiment.

U.S. stocks index futures rose on Tuesday after earnings from Ford Motor Co and 3M Co beat analysts' forecasts on a big day for bellwether companies.

The companies which are expected to see active trade on Tuesday are: Ford Motor, Amazon.com, Broadcom, 3M, United Parcel Service, Western Union, Coca-Cola, FMC Technologies and AK Steel Holding.

al Qaeda had warned to set off a “nuclear hellstorm” if Osama bin Laden is ever captured or killed.

UBS appeared to put the financial crisis behind it, with money pouring back into its core wealth management arm in the first quarter, although its investment bank struggled to regain momentum.

At 0909 GMT (5:09 a.m. ET) futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones futures and Nasdaq futures were 0.1 to 0.3 percent higher.

Silver tumbled before finding a footing on Tuesday, dragging prices of gold and oil with it and subduing European shares, although investors were wary of taking strong positions ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.