Stock index futures pointed to gains for Wall Street for the third session in a row on Wednesday, ahead of a Greek parliamentary vote on austerity measures which is expected to be passed in order to avert a default for the highly indebted country.

* Optimism that Greece's parliament would endorse an austerity package has gathered pace in recent days. Giving a boost to the view, one of three deputies from Prime Minister George Papandreou's ruling Socialist party backtracked and said he would support the austerity plan vital for Greece to secure EU/IMF funds in July.

* Short-dated Greek government bond yields and the cost of insuring debt issued by the euro zone's weaker states against default fell on Wednesday.

* U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday on optimism that a solution to Greece's debt crisis was near, although low volume indicated underlying nervousness in the market.

* Data scheduled for release on Wednesday include U.S. pending home sales figures at 1400 GMT, and latest weekly mortgage and refinancing indexes at 1100 GMT.

* Monsanto , the world's largest seed company, reports third quarter earnings with expectations that the firm will post a rise in earnings per share to $1.10 from $0.81 a year ago thanks to strong spring sales of genetically modified corn seed.

* Other firms to release earnings include Family Dollar Stores and General Mills

* In company news, Hewlett-Packard Co , the world's No.1 PC maker, plans to develop cloud computing products in China, Chief Executive Leo Apotheker said on Wednesday.

* U.S. securities regulators are poised on Wednesday to propose rules for how swap dealers interact with their customers, in a move designed to manage risk and protect clients from abusive practices.

* Morgan Stanley's interest rates trading group lost at least tens of millions betting on inflation expectations in the second quarter, Bloomberg News reported, citing people informed about the dealings.

* In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was higher in early trade on optimism that ahead of the Greek parliamentary vote, with heavyweight banking shares among the top gainers.

(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)

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