Standard & Poor's releases its S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index for March at 1300 GMT. Economists expect the 20-city seasonally adjusted index to rise 0.3 percent, versus a 0.2 percent increase in February.

Samsung Electronics Co (005930.KS) launches its Galaxy S smartphone in Europe on Tuesday, with the third generation model expected to be even more successful than its predecessor, which helped the South Korean company topple Apple Inc (AAPL.O) as the world's top smartphone maker.

May consumer confidence numbers are due at 1400 GMT. Economists expect a reading of 70.0, compared with 69.2 in April.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago releases at 1230 GMT its Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index for April. The index read 92.2 in March.

Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp (8002.T) is nearing a deal to buy U.S. grains merchant Gavilon for about $3.5 billion excluding debt, and could announce the transaction as early as Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo, according to people familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) has sold an estimated $25 billion of profitable securities in an effort to prop up earnings after suffering trading losses tied to the bank's now-infamous "London Whale," compounding the cost of those trades.

Dewey & Leboeuf LLP filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday night and will seek approval to liquidate its business after failing to find a merger partner, marking the biggest collapse of a law firm in U.S. history.

Shares of Opera Software (OPERA.OL) soared as much as 26 percent on Tuesday on market talk Facebook Inc. (FB.O) was in discussion to acquire the Norwegian firm for its advanced mobile phone software technology.

The United States is well poised to withstand any fallout from Europe's escalating debt crisis, a top Federal Reserve executive told the Wall Street Journal.

European equities .FTEU3 rose 0.8 percent on Tuesday following a stronger showing in Asia where the spotlight fell on the possibility of further policy stimulus in China, though trade looked set to be cautious given fears over Spain's banks.

The Nikkei share average .225 rose 0.7 percent on Tuesday on speculation that China, Japan's largest export market, may soon launch a stimulus programme to avoid a sharp slowdown.

U.S. stocks ended their first positive week in four with a down day on Friday as investors were reluctant to buy going into the long weekend given the uncertainty swirling around Europe.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 74.92 points, or 0.60 percent, to 12,454.83 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dipped 2.86 points, or 0.22 percent, to 1,317.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 1.85 points, or 0.07 percent, at 2,837.53.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by John Stonestreet)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency