Stock index futures rose on Tuesday, a day after the S&P 500 moved into positive territory for 2010, as Greece appeared to be making progress toward a resolution on aid from the European Union.

The European Commission said debt-troubled Greece must take additional measures to reach its deficit reduction target of 4 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 and said the Greek government was united and determined to do what was necessary to reach that target.

Now that we've erased the S&P losses for 2010, sights are on bigger and better things, said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in North Brunswick, New Jersey.

Earnings season is pretty much done. The European situation will be key.

Monday's gains on Wall Street pushed both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq into positive territory for 2010, with the now Dow off just 0.2 percent for the year.

S&P 500 futures rose 6 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 53 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 9.75 points.

Later in the session, U.S. automakers release February sales. Economists in a Reuters survey expect domestic median annualized sales of 3.7 million cars and 4.2 million trucks. In January, the figures were 3.8 million cars and 4.18 million trucks.

Terra Industries Inc jumped 11.3 percent to $45.85 after CF Industries Holdings Inc upped its offer for the fertilizer company to $47.40 per share in cash and stock. CF shares tumbled 10.7 percent to $96.

Chipmaker technology bellwether Qualcomm Inc , rose 2.7 percent to $36.51 in premarket after the company announced a new $3 billion share buyback plan and raised its quarterly dividend by 12 percent.

AutoZone Inc shares were unchanged at $166 after the auto-parts retailer posted second-quarter results.

But Staples Inc shares dropped 7.2 percent to $24 after the top office products retailer reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that missed Wall Street expectations.

European shares were higher at midday, with HSBC bouncing from Monday's negative reaction to 2009 results and L'Oreal up on reports Nestle may buy a stake.

Shares in Asia rose for a third session, led by tech stocks, while the Australian dollar slipped on uncertainty about the pace of future rate hikes.

(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

S&P New Jersey