Wall Street to open higher after encouraging data

Wall Street was poised for a higher open on Wednesday as encouraging signs about the job market offset renewed concern about the health of banks after a source told Reuters stress tests show Bank of America has a $34 billion capital shortfall.

Data showed private sector job losses slowed in April, coming in below expectations and providing further fuel for optimism the U.S. economy has seen the worst.

Futures had initially pointed to a lower open after a source told Reuters about Bank of America's outcome under the stress tests. Shares of Bank of America were up 1.8 percent at $11.03 ahead of the open, recovering from earlier losses.

The ADP data is certainly not as bad as anticipated, which may lead to some encouragement that Friday's non-farm payrolls may be not all that bad. I wouldn't be surprised to see it come in below the consensus, said Scott Brown, Chief Economist, Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida.

S&P 500 futures rose 6.10 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 55 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4.25 points.

Additionally the New York Times reported that Citigroup may need to raise between $5 billion and $10 billion. Shares of Citigroup changed course to gain 3.3 percent to $3.42.

The private-sector employment report boosted sentiment ahead of the key non-farm payroll report due at the end of the week.

Dow component Walt Disney Co was up 6.3 percent at $24.60 in premarket trade after the No. 1 U.S. entertainment company posted a quarterly profit above Wall Street's forecasts after the bell on Tuesday.

(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)