Stock futures signal gains; Caterpillar eyed

(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.16 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.16 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.1 percent at 5:06 a.m. ET.

Companies set to report quarterly earnings include Dow component CATERPILLAR (CAT.NY)Inc , Boston Scientific , Texas Instruments and BlackRock Inc .

Greece's finance minister said on Sunday that aid will arrive in time to avert the euro zone's first sovereign debt default as signs grew that a 45 billion-euro ($60.49 billion) rescue would have to be bigger.

Greece's debt troubles dominated weekend talks among world financial leaders in Washington after Athens bowed to intense pressure from markets and requested funds from the European Union and the IMF in what would be the first bailout of a euro zone member.

The two Democratic Senators charged with writing rules for the $450 trillion private swaps market are near a deal, and will include a provision to require banks to spin off swaps desks, people familiar with the talks said on Sunday.

UAL Corp's United Airlines and Continental Airlines disagree over the price of a potential stock-for-stock merger, according to source familiar with the situation.

U.S. car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc had agreed to buy smaller rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc for about $1.2 billion to boost its presence in the leisure rental market.

Japan's Canon Inc <7751.T> raised its annual outlook closer to market expectations on Monday after posting a more than fourfold jump in quarterly profit on brisk demand for digital cameras and printers.

U.S. clinical research company Charles River Laboratories International said on Monday it had agreed to buy China's WuXi PharmaTech for $1.6 billion to expand its contract research and drug development services.

U.S. industrials group Emerson Electric has made a 723 million pounds ($1.1 billion) approach for Chloride Group in its second attempt to buy the power protection company to strengthen its position in Europe.

Best Buy , the world's No.1 electricals retailer, will do whatever it takes to succeed in the UK, joint venture partner Carphone Warehouse said as it raised profit expectations for the third time in six months.

Oil edged higher on Monday with Brent touching an 18-month high, as robust U.S. economic data boosted hopes of a sustained recovery in the world's largest energy user, but dollar strength capped oil's gains.

European stocks were up 1 percent in morning trade, led by banking shares such as BNP Paribas and Barclays on easing worries over Greece's debt woes <.EU>, while Japan's Nikkei average jumped 2.3 percent.

U.S. stocks rose to a 19-month high on Friday as Merck eased concerns about the impact of healthcare reform, saying its costs will be relatively low.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 69.99 points, or 0.63 percent, to 11,204.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 8.61 points, or 0.71 percent, to 1,217.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 11.08 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,530.15.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)