Stock Futures up on Report IMF May Boost Europe Funding

(REUTERS) -- Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for a second straight advance after sources said the International Monetary Fund wants to boost its lending facility as the Eurozone battles a long-running debt crisis.

* Sources told Reuters the IMF needs to raise up to $600 billion in new funds to lend to countries struggling with the fallout from the debt crisis.

* Greece was set to meet with creditors in the latest attempt to snap a deadlock in negotiations to slash the country's debt and prevent a default.

* There is no question the market seems to be decoupling itself from the euro news but Europe also seems to be stabilizing as we see the market is beginning to focus on the economic news and of course, earnings, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

* Goldman Sachs Group Inc reported fourth-quarter results early Wednesday. The shares rose 0.8 percent to $98.45.

* The S&P 500 has risen nearly 3 percent for the year, helped by gains in financials. Investors have focused on improving U.S. economic data and a stabilization of the euro zone debt crisis.

* The S&P financial index <.GSPF> is up more than 5 percent for the year but has fallen in the last two sessions after lackluster earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc .

* S&P 500 futures rose 3.5 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 gained 33 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 8.25 points.

* Bank of New York Mellon Corp dipped 4.1 percent to $20.40 in light premarket trade after the world's No. 1 custody bank said fourth-quarter earnings fell.

* State Street Corp reported results early Wednesday.

* Other companies due to report include eBay Inc and Charles Schwab Corp .

* Economic data expected on Wednesday includes December's Producer Price Index (PPI), industrial production and capacity utilization as well as the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo's January housing market index.

* Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 0.1 percent rise, compared with a 0.3 percent increase in November. Excluding volatile food and energy items, PPI is expected to rise 0.1 percent, a repeat of the November increase. The data comes at 8:30 a.m. EST.

* Yahoo Inc shares rose 3.4 percent to $15.95 premarket after co-founder Jerry Yang severed all formal ties with the company he started in 1995. Shareholders have blasted Yang for impeding investment deals that could have transformed the Internet media group.

* Prudential Financial Inc , the No. 2 U.S. life insurer, and Korea Life Insurance <088350.KS> plan to submit separate bids for a controlling stake in Tong Yang Life Insurance <082640.KS>, sources said.

* BB&T Corp and the TD Bank unit of Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank submitted preliminary bids to buy BankUnited Inc , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

* Asian shares steadied a day after economic data soothed global worries, and the focus returned to Europe.

* U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 to its highest since early August, but indexes pared gains late in the session as Citigroup's steep drop in profit gave investors a reason to unload bank shares.

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)