Alcoa (AA.N) and Monsanto (MON.N) are two of the first large companies to report quarterly results as the earnings season begins. Wall Street expects both the companies to show improved profit from a year ago.

ICSC/Goldman Sachs release chain store sales for the week ended January 5 at 1245 GMT. In the previous week, sales rose 0.6 percent.

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) said it likely earned a quarterly profit of $8.3 billion as it sold close to 500 handsets a minute and as demand picked up for the flat screens it makes for mobile devices, including those for rival Apple Inc (AAPL.O) products.

Redbook releases its Retail Sales Index of department and chain store sales for January at 1355 GMT. In the previous month, sales rose 0.1 percent.

Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) said late on Monday Chief Executive Louis D'Ambrosio will step down for family health reasons after the U.S. retailer reported a 1.8 percent decline in quarter-to-date sales at stores open at least a year.

National Federation of Independent Business releases small business optimism index for December at 1230 GMT. In the previous month, the index read 87.5.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares turned flat in morning session on Tuesday after opening lower, with gains in telecom stocks offsetting declines in financial and mining shares.

U.S. stocks lost ground on Monday, as investors drew back from recent gains that lifted the S&P 500 to a five-year high, in anticipation of sluggish growth in corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 50.92 points, or 0.38 percent, to 13,384.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 4.58 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,461.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC lost 2.84 points, or 0.09 percent, to 3,098.81.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency