Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, recovering from a sell-off in the previous session as investors awaited monthly data on pending home and auto sales.

U.S.-listed shares BP Plc rebounded in premarket trading, rising 1.3 percent to $37. On Tuesday, BP led energy shares lower as it continued to struggle with the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and as the U.S. government launched a criminal probe.

The decline in energy stocks sparked a Wall Street drop of more than 1 percent on Tuesday.

Transocean , which owns the rig that sank in the Gulf of Mexico, rose 2.1 percent to $51.50 before the bell. July crude futures were down nearly 1 percent to $72.04 per barrel.

April pending home sales, set for release at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), could show the strength of a struggling housing market. Sales are seen rising 5 percent, compared with a 5.3 percent rise in the prior month. May auto sales are also due later.

S&P 500 futures rose 4.8 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 climbed 47 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 15 points.

Google Inc expects to release its Chrome computer operating system in the late fall, a top executive said Wednesday, in a competitive strike at rival Microsoft Corp's Windows.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Amgen Inc's osteoporosis drug Prolia to help prevent fractures in post-menopausal women, days after European approval.

Altria Group Inc will pay nearly $1 billion in taxes and interests to the U.S. government to end a dispute.

Collective Brands Inc reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations late Tuesday, though sales missed the consensus view.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)