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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)