U.S. futures rise on Greece hopes; Dow Jones up 0.55%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were higher on Wednesday, as hopes Greece will take the steps needed to secure its second bailout lifted market sentiment.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.55%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.59% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.59% gain.

Sentiment strengthened after the head of China’s central bank said he believes the euro zone’s debt crisis can be solved and said that China will become more involved in efforts to resolve the crisis through mechanisms such as the European Financial Stability Facility.

Euro zone finance ministers cancelled a meeting planned for later Wednesday to sign off on Greece’s bailout, after failing to receive assurances on how Athens plans to implement austerity measures approved in a parliamentary vote on Sunday. However, the ministers were expected to hold a teleconference ahead on a meeting on Monday.

Financial stocks were expected to be active as European lenders saw their shares boosted by hopes on the Greek front. Bank of America was up 0.88% and Citigroup added 0.56% in pre-market trade.

However, Goldman Sachs edged down 0.02% in after hour trade as it remains under investigation by federal authorities for leaking inside information to hedge funds. The bank also warned U.S. regulators that a proposed ban on proprietary trading could make the financial system more risky and curtail services for clients. The bank also warned
In the tech sector, talks between Yahoo and China's Alibaba Group over the U.S. Internet giant's Asian assets have hit an impasse, throwing their plans for a USD17 billion tax-free asset swap into question.

Apple saw shares surge 1.38% in pre-market trade after it asked a bankruptcy judge for permission to sue Eastman Kodak over allegations it’s infringing patents that Apple says cover technologies used in printers, digital cameras and digital picture frames.

Elsewhere, a group of Illumina shareholders filed a putative class action against the life sciences company alleging that its directors adopted a poison pill plan to thwart a takeover by Swiss drug maker Roche Holding, based on bad advice from Goldman Sachs.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 0.97%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 1%, Germany's DAX surged 1.15%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.15%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 2.1%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rallied 2.3%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as data on industrial production and the capacity utilization rate. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.