Stock futures point to higher Wall Street open

(Reuters) - Stock futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes were up 1.5-2 percent on Wednesday, pointing to a higher start on Wall Street.

General Motors' Saab brand has received interest from several potential bidders including China's Geely Automobile <0175.HK> and Dongfend Motor Group <0489.HK>, sources with direct knowledge of the sales process said on Tuesday.

Costco said its second-quarter profit fell 27 percent, as the No.1 U.S. warehouse club operator cut prices to win market share during the year-end holiday season.

Big Lots posts quarterly results. The retailer, which specializes in sales of excess merchandise, could post flat to slightly lower profit as shoppers stick to buying the basics, like food and trash bags, and avoid purchasing its offering of furniture, home goods and seasonal merchandise.

Fashion company Liz Clairborne reports results. Hard-hit by the recession, the owner of the Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand and Kate Spade labels recently said it would cut 725 jobs and likely post a fourth-quarter loss instead of previously expected profit, due to deep discounts on its clothing.

Palm shares fell more than 10 percent in extended trading on Tuesday after the company warned its quarterly revenue would miss Wall Street expectations.

Stanford Kurland, Countrywide Financial's former president, and his team have been buying up delinquent home mortgages the government took over from other failed banks, sometimes for pennies on the dollar, the New York Times said. They get a piece of what they can collect.

Shaking up the nascent market for electronic books for the second time in two months, Amazon.com will begin selling e-books for reading on Apple Inc's popular iPhone and iPod Touch, the New York Times said.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on the president's budget proposal.

The House Financial Institutions Subcommittee holds a hearing at 2:30 p.m. EST on the TARP and whether Main Street is getting any benefit from the financial bailout program.

President Barack Obama's foreclosure mitigation plan goes into action with the announcement of more details and application procedures.

Economists expect the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index for February, due out at 10:00 a.m. EST, to fall 41.0 from January's 42.9.

The ADP National Employment survey of private sector employers due out at 8:15 a.m. EST, is expected to show 610,000 job losses in the month, up from 522,000 in January.

U.S. stocks fell in volatile trading on Tuesday, with the S&P ending below 700 for the first time since October 1996 as persistent uncertainty about the amount of money needed to shore up the financial system overshadowed a hunt for bargains.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Dan Lalor)