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In addition to seeking an update on Chief Executive Steve Jobs, investors will scour the results and executives' comments for clues on how the company is marshaling its supply chain to secure the crucial components it needs to meet torrid demand.

Analysts are betting Apple will take a hit, either in paying higher prices for parts or even in getting enough iPads and phones to market, at a time rivals including Research in Motion (RIMM.O) (RIM.TO) and Motorola Inc (MMI.N) are flooding stores with tablets.

This would be the first quarterly report for Apple under the stewardship of Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook since Jobs went on his third medical leave in January.

"The biggest concern at the moment is quite short term in nature and that revolves around the supply chain that is a global issue following the catastrophe in Japan," said Daniel Ernst, analyst with Hudson Square Research. "We are all interested to learn how Apple is managing that."

"They are in the best position to manage it but there is virtually no way they won't have some impact," he added.

Apple, a big purchaser of touchscreen displays and flash memory, is dependent on Japan for some of its key components, sparking concern that the disruption due to the crisis there may hurt its gross margins.

Wedbush Securities analyst Scott Sutherland estimates a 200-300 basis point decline in margins in the June quarter.

Despite the expected pressure on costs, analysts are bullish on the company's long-term prospects.

"The demand for Apple products is incredible, the company has managed the business very well in terms of cost and margin progression and new R&D, product launches," Ernst said. "So the long-term story looks fantastic."

HINTS AND CLUES

For the March quarter, the main drivers of growth include its perennial bestseller iPhone, which became available on the Verizon network during the past quarter, and the Mac line of computers.

Analysts are estimating sales of about 6 million iPads in the fiscal second quarter, alongside about 16 million iPhones and 3-4 million Macs.

The company gave hints on its sales numbers in a lawsuit, filed on Friday, which accuses Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) of violating the company's patents and trademarks.

In the legal filing, Apple said it had sold over 19 million iPads by March 2011, which implies sales of about 4.2 million units in the second quarter.

Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.5 percent, while MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS gained nearly 1 percent, led by the tech and materials sectors, which both jumped more than 1 percent. .T

A clutch of U.S. technology heavyweights, led by chip maker Intel Corp (INTC.O), reported strong results after the Wall Street close. Earlier, healthy profits from healthcare and materials companies had helped lift the S&P 500 .SPX 0.6 percent. .N

The euro traded around $1.4365, having bounced off a two-week low around $1.4155 set on Monday. The Australian dollar bought around $1.0565, heading back toward a 29-year peak of $1.0585 set on April 8.

Oil prices were little changed, with Brent crude easing a little to $121.21 a barrel and U.S. crude edging up a touch to $108.32.

Gold traded around $1,495 an ounce, just short of a record.

(Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 rose 1.5 percent, while MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan gained nearly 1 percent, led by the tech and materials sectors, which both jumped more than 1 percent. .T

A clutch of U.S. technology heavyweights, led by chip maker Intel Corp (INTC.O), reported strong results after the Wall Street close. Earlier, healthy profits from healthcare and materials companies had helped lift the S&P 500 .SPX 0.6 percent. .N

The euro traded around $1.4365, having bounced off a two-week low around $1.4155 set on Monday. The Australian dollar bought around $1.0565, heading back toward a 29-year peak of $1.0585 set on April 8.

Oil prices were little changed, with Brent crude easing a little to $121.21 a barrel and U.S. crude edging up a touch to $108.32.

Gold traded around $1,495 an ounce, just short of a record.

(Writing by Alex Richardson; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Bank of America, the largest U.S. bank by assets, will spin off BAML Capital Partners into its own unnamed firm.

The firm would then manage the bank's private equity assets for a fee -- winding those positions down over time -- and could begin accepting outside investors.

The assets will remain on BofA's balance sheet until they are wound down.

Company spokesman Jerry Dubrowski said BofA determined the business was "not strategically critical to customers and our clients" and the decision was made to spin off the unit.

Dubrowski said the head of the new firm had not yet been announced, and it was not immediately clear the number of employees that would move to the new firm.

The spin-off is the latest in a series of moves by the bank to comply with the Volcker Rule, a part of the financial regulatory overhaul law passed in 2010 that limits proprietary trading, or investments by banks using their own capital. It also fits with Chief Executive Brian Moynihan's efforts to sell off extraneous business units.

In 2010, the bank spun off Banc of America Capital Investors, a $1.4 billion private equity group to form Ridgemont Equity Partners, under a similar structure.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Some investors were disappointed that the company did not raise its full-year forecast by a wider margin.

"The concern is they didn't really guide a whole lot higher than they had originally for the year, if you take into account the earnings surprise," said Fort Pitt Capital Group senior analyst Kim Caughey Forrest. "That's a little disappointing."

IBM shares were little changed, dropping to $165.36 from their New York Stock Exchange close of $165.40.

The world's largest technology services firm managed to beat expectations for the first quarter, even though it does about 11 percent of its business in crisis-stricken Japan.

That was partially because of strong performance in the red-hot markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China, where revenue was up a combined 26 percent from a year earlier.

"These numbers show IBM's resiliency. They beat on just about every area I had hoped," said Ted Parrish, co-portfolio manager of the Henssler Equity Fund.

International Business Machines Corp raised its forecast for full-year profit, excluding items, to at least $13.15 from its previous view of at least $13.00.

IBM benefited from strong demand for the latest version of its mainframe computer, which it introduced in the third quarter of last year. Sales of that product were up 41 percent from a year earlier.

The company also reported first-quarter profit, excluding items, of $2.41 per share, ahead of the average analyst forecast of $2.30, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 8 percent from a year earlier to $24.6 billion, beating the average analyst forecast of $24.0 billion.

(Additional reporting by Yinka Adegoke. Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Bernard Orr)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N), the largest U.S. investment bank, rose 1.1 percent to $155.50 after posting stronger-than-expected quarterly profit, earning more money from bond trading than analysts had forecast.

Healthcare company Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), up 3 percent to $62.30, was the top boost to the Dow after reporting stronger-than-expected sales and earnings, helped by the weaker dollar and higher sales of prescription drugs.

"It is kind of nice to see a couple of big headline companies come in with positive surprises after a string of headline companies delivering negative surprises over the last week," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

"Investors really are going to be focusing on earnings and trying to get a read on guidance -- guidance is going to be the name of the game right now."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 45.26 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,246.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 4.41 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,309.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC climbed 9.73 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,745.11.

Companies also scheduled to report quarterly results later on Tuesday include Intel Corp (INTC.O), International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) and CSX Corp (CSX.N).

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

The results were stronger than many analysts had expected, but with Goldman sounding cautious notes about its future profits, the bank's shares were little changed.

The largest U.S. investment bank posted a 7 percent decline in revenue; revenue from customer trading, a key source of income, fell 22 percent.

Goldman faces serious pressure from regulatory reform in many of its main businesses. U.S. financial reform laws limit banks' ability to trade for their own account, which is expected to cut into Goldman's trading profit. Regulatory pressure to move many types of derivative trading to exchanges also threatens future earnings.

When the bank posted a 53 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit and talked about how client trading volume in December was "dead," many investors feared it would have real trouble boosting future profits.

On Tuesday, the bank said trading revenue in the first quarter had rebounded 83 percent from the fourth quarter. But on a conference call with investors and analysts, it noted the hurdles it faces in the future.

Goldman's clients are still cautious, given the economic and regulatory environment, and the bank still sees the climate as uncertain, Chief Financial Officer David Viniar said.

The bank posted a profit to common shareholders of $908 million, or $1.56 a share. Analysts' average forecast was 82 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Goldman repurchased $5 billion of preferred shares from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in the quarter, resulting in a one-time charge of $1.64 billion.

Excluding the preferred share buyback, the bank would have earned $4.38 a share.

A year earlier, it posted earning of $3.3 billion, or $5.59 a share.

Revenue from fixed income, currency and commodities was down 28 percent. Last year's trading results were unusually strong.

Goldman set aside $5.23 billion for employee compensation in the quarter, a 5 percent decline from a year earlier.

The bank's shares were down 39 cents to $153.39 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Dan Wilchins; Additional reporting by Angela Moon; editing by John Wallace)

The results helped assuage investor concerns that the bank's trading business was doomed to post lackluster returns for some time, and Goldman's shares rose 1.8 percent in premarket trading.

"These numbers will probably begin to calm some of the fears that the market had been worried about," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

Client trading volume improved from the 2010 fourth quarter, which was unusually weak across Wall Street. The bank's revenue from trading for customers was down 22 percent from the first quarter of 2010. The year-earlier quarter was unusually strong.

Overall profit for common shareholders fell 72 percent, due in part to declining customer trading revenue and also due to a $1.64 billion charge to buy back $5 billion of preferred shares from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.

The largest U.S. investment bank posted a profit to common shareholders of $908 million, or $1.56 a share. Analysts' average forecast was 82 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Excluding the preferred redemption, Goldman would have earned $4.38 a share.

A year earlier, it earned $3.3 billion, or $5.59 a share.

Revenue fell 7 percent; revenue from fixed income, currency and commodities was down 28 percent.

Goldman Sachs set aside $5.23 billion for employee compensation in the quarter, a 5 percent decline from the same quarter last year.

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Dan Wilchins; Additional reporting by Angela Moon; editing by John Wallace)

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S on average expect Goldman to post first-quarter earnings of 82 cents per share, down from $5.59 a year earlier.

Goldman bought back $5 billion of preferred stock from Berkshire Hathaway during the quarter, reducing its earnings by $1.6 billion.

Trading weakness is also expected to weigh on results. Last year's first quarter offered a trading bonanza for many Wall Street banks, but making money in that business this year was much tougher, because many markets moved unpredictably.

Oil prices surged and the yen jumped against the dollar. Other markets did not move clearly in any direction, spurring clients to wait on the sidelines.

JPMorgan Chase & Co still managed to post strong trading results last Wednesday, especially in fixed income, currencies and commodities.

Bank of America Corp and Citigroup both reported big trading revenue declines from the year-ago period.

Goldman's bond trading results have in the past correlated with both JPMorgan's and Bank of America's.

"JPMorgan's results should translate to a pretty decent quarter at Goldman, but there are examples in the past where some of these big banks did a much better job than others," said Keith B. Davis, an analyst with Farr, Miller & Washington, which owned 100,000 Goldman shares as of Friday afternoon.

POLITICAL RISKS

More than any other bank on Wall Street, Goldman relies on trading results. That business delivered 56 percent of Goldman's overall net revenue last year, compared with 34 percent for Morgan Stanley, 19 percent for JPMorgan and 16 percent for Bank of America.

Over the past month, analysts have been reducing their estimates dramatically for Goldman and Morgan Stanley, mainly due to expectations of weak trading results and special items.

Davis and Wall Street analysts have said that Goldman's stock is undervalued, as investors fret about the political and regulatory environment and pay less attention to its fundamental ability to earn.

Goldman trades at 1.18 times analysts' average estimate of book value, according to Thomson Reuters data, far below historical norms.

But the political risks that Goldman faces were evident last week, when the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on investigations released a report about the financial crisis that painted the bank as a villain.

* Chip maker Texas Instruments Inc (TXN.N) will be in focus after it warned of slower-than-usual quarterly sales growth as it scrambles to restart production after Japan's massive earthquake. Shares of Texas Instruments traded in Frankfurt (TXN.F) were down 1.6 percent.

* Companies scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday include Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Intel Corp (INTC.O), International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) and CSX Corp (CSX.N). Economic indicators include March housing starts.

* Goldman Sachs is expected to report sharply lower quarterly earnings due to weak trading and a charge for buying back preferred stock from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N). Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S on average expect Goldman to post first-quarter earnings of 82 cents per share, down from $5.59 a year earlier.

* Tokyo stocks hit a three-week low on Tuesday, hit by Texas Instruments' warning on the impact from Japan's earthquake and after the yen climbed on S&P's revised credit outlook for the United States. European stocks were up 0.5 percent in morning trade, rebounding from the previous session's sharp sell-off.

* Apple Inc (AAPL.O) sued Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) claiming the South Korean firm's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad, according to court papers, a move analysts say is aimed at keeping its close rivals at bay.

* Toshiba Corp (6502.T) said on Tuesday it likely fell short of its operating profit estimate for the past business year by 4 percent after last month's massive earthquake and tsunami affected operations at some of its plants.

* Booming smartphone demand and cost cuts kept cellphone venture Sony Ericsson (6758.T)(ERICb.ST) in the black in the first quarter, despite the drag of supply disruption from Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

* Wall Street fell more than 1 percent on Monday as sovereign debt fears on both sides of the Atlantic and China's monetary tightening hurt the outlook for global economic growth.

* The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slid 140.24 points, or 1.14 percent, to 12,201.59. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX declined 14.54 points, or 1.10 percent, to 1,305.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dropped 29.27 points, or 1.06 percent, to 2,735.38.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Louise Heavens)

Asian nations have amassed trillions of dollars in U.S. debt through recycled export earnings, and have a vital interest in maintaining its value. So it was no surprise that officials were keen to play down the danger.

"The United States is tackling fiscal issues in various ways, so I still think U.S. Treasuries are basically an attractive product for us," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

Treasury prices did indeed prove resilient on Tuesday, though that did not stop stocks markets from skidding across the Asian region.

S&P, which assigns ratings to guide investors on the risks involved in buying debt instruments, slapped a negative outlook on the United States' top-notch AAA credit rating on Monday and said there was at least a one-in-three chance that it could eventually cut it unless politicians found a way to slash the yawning budget deficit within two years.

The warning came as markets were fretting over the risk of Greece having to restructure its debt and sparked a general pullback from equities and commodities.

If investors start demanding higher returns for holding riskier U.S. debt, the rise in bond yields could erode the value of Treasuries held in currency reserves and push borrowing costs up in other countries.

Japan's reserves stood at $1.12 trillion at the end of March, the bulk of which is thought to be in Treasuries.

Even that pile is dwarfed by China's $3 trillion in reserves, and again much of that is believed to be in U.S. government debt. China's foreign exchange regulator and other policy advisors had no immediate comment after the S&P move.

MONSTROUS

So monstrous have China's holdings become that it is stoking inflation in the country while making it almost a captive investor in Treasuries, the only market large and liquid enough to absorb such mountains of cash.

Li Jie, the head of the China Foreign Exchange Reserve Research Center, an academic institute with the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing, said S&P's warning would ring alarm bells for Beijing.

The scale of the potential losses from a slide in the value of U.S. debt would drive China to cut the share of Treasuries in its holdings, he said.

"It's widely believed that U.S. treasuries make up about 70 percent in China's foreign exchange reserves, but China may cut the proportion to 50 percent or less in the coming decade," Li said.

Achieving such a shift without spooking the market and driving down Treasury prices would be no small feat, however.