Stock index futures rose on Wednesday after the head of the European Commission said it will present options for joint euro zone bonds, a tool that might help resolve the region's debt crisis.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the body will soon present proposals for common euro bonds. Germany has been opposed to debt jointly issued and underwritten by all 17 members of the bloc.

S&P 500 futures gained 11.9 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 91 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 21 points.

In economic data, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for August will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey expected a 0.1 percent decline, compared with a 0.2 percent rise in July.

It's still a market with all eyes on Europe and how the euro is trading. But we haven't had any economic data for Monday and Tuesday, so today's PPI number will closely watched for signs of stagflation, said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

U.S. retail sales for August are also due at 8:30 a.m. Forecasts call for a rise of 0.2 percent last month versus July's 0.5 percent increase.

Business inventories for July are expected to show a jump of 0.5 percent, compared with a 0.3 percent rise in June. The data is due at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

China will keep monetary policy tight to contain inflation but forge ahead with structural reforms and seek to boost consumption to sustain long-term economic growth, Premier Wen Jiabao said.

Financial stocks were in the spotlight. BNP Paribas dropped after the French bank announced a plan to sell 70 billion euros of risk-weighted assets, while Societe Generale fell after Moody's downgraded the bank, citing its exposure to Greek debt.

Dell Inc's board authorized an additional share repurchase one month after the world's No. 2 personal computer maker slashed its 2012 sales forecast on uncertainty in government and corporate spending.

General Electric Co will buy back Berkshire Hathaway Inc's preferred stake, handing back a lifeline from the 2008 financial crisis.

Google Inc had raised its offer for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc by 33 percent to $12.5 billion after two weeks of negotiations.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as investors bought shares beaten down in recent weeks and bet European leaders would take action soon to ease the Greek debt crisis.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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