Greek leaders faced crunch talks on Tuesday to secure a new bailout and avoid a chaotic debt default, caught between European Union demands Greece accepts painful reforms now and a national strike against more austerity. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos negotiated through most of the night with Greece's EU and IMF lenders.

On the earnings front, investors awaited results from a companies including Coca Cola Co (KO.N), Lincoln National Corp (LNC.N) and Walt Disney (DIS.N).

European shares were down 0.5 percent early, after disappointing earnings reports from UBS (UBSN.VX) and Alfa Laval (ALFA.ST) and as Greek debt negotiations dragged on.

Swiss bank UBS (UBSN.VX) predicted further weakness in investment banking after a restructuring of the business failed to prevent an earnings hit from the euro zone debt crisis and worries about the global economy.

ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), the world's largest steelmaker, forecast an improvement in the first half after a weak end to last year, with a clear pick-up in North America but still concerns about Europe. The company, which makes around 7 percent of global steel, said shipments would return to the level seen at the start of last year and its mining output would continue to grow.

Oracle (ORCL.O) rejected a potential $272 million award against SAP (SAPG.DE) over copyright infringement allegations, opting for a new trial after a U.S. judge slashed over $1 billion from a previous verdict.

General Motors (GM.N) sold 246,654 vehicles in China in January, down 8 percent from a year earlier. It attributed the declined to fewer shopping days during the Lunar New Year which fell in January this year.

Coca-Cola aims to double net revenue to more than $200 billion by 2020 from $100 billion in 2010, Jacob Robbins, managing director of the global sweeteners unit of the group, said on Tuesday.

Taiwan smartphone maker HTC's (2498.TW) forecast of much lower-than-expected first-quarter revenue sent its shares down by the 6.9 percent maximum on Tuesday, with attention turning to how models due for release this month may help turn around its fortunes.

BP (BP.L) said it was preparing "vigorously" for lawsuits related to its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, due to start later this month, as it unveiled a rise in fourth-quarter earnings boosted by higher oil prices and one-off gains.

Toyota Motor (7203.T) raised its full-year profit forecast more than a third as it cuts costs, trims spending and expects Japanese government schemes to boost sales, though the guidance was still some way below market expectations.

Brent crude oil rose above $116 per barrel to a six-month high on Tuesday as threats from Iran to ban exports to some European states stoked supply concerns.

U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Monday as lingering questions about Europe's debt crisis and corporate earnings overshadowed growing optimism about economic growth after a five-week rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 17.10 points, or 0.13 percent, at 12,845.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 0.57 points, or 0.04 percent, at 1,344.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 3.67 points, or 0.13 percent, at 2,901.99.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Dan Lalor)

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