By Angela Moon
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday on signs that European officials are urgently exploring ways to rescue Spain's debt-stricken banks and on hopes of further stimulus from central banks to tackle the euro zone's debt crisis.
Though the European Central Bank held its main interest rate at 1 percent, resisting international pressure to provide more support for the euro zone's ailing economy, investors are awaiting comments from ECB President Mario Draghi at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).
Fears that the problems in Europe are hurting the global economy have increased speculation that major central banks could join in another global round of policy easing.
Germany and European Union officials are urgently exploring ways to rescue Spain's banks although Madrid has not yet requested assistance and is resisting political conditions, several EU sources said on Wednesday.
The Federal Reserve releases Beige Book of regional economic conditions at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT). Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will also be testifying on the economy before a congressional committee on Thursday.
"With the ECB meeting today, the BoE tomorrow and the Bernanke testimony on the economy on Thursday as well, markets again look to central bankers like dogs to pieces of meat. Will the dog get the meat and will it taste as good?" said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co in New York, in a note to clients.
The gains in futures follow a steep decline in the market last week that took the S&P 500 down more than 3 percent for the week.
S&P 500 futures rose 10.3 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 added 88 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 25.25 points.
The Labor Department releases at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) revised Q1 Productivity and Unit Labor Costs. Economists forecast productivity to fall 0.7 percent, versus a 0.5 percent drop in the preliminary Q1 report. Unit Labor costs are expected to rise 2.2 percent, compared with a 2.0 percent increase in the preliminary Q1 report.
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The European Commission will propose far-reaching powers for regulators to deal with failing banks on Wednesday, a step towards the banking union the ECB has urged to secure the euro's future.
Moody's Investors Service cut the credit ratings of six German banking groups and Austria's three largest banks on Wednesday, saying they face risks if the euro zone crisis deepens.
Stocks rose on Tuesday, recovering some ground from last week's selloff, as data showing the vast services sector improved in May outweighed investor angst about the euro zone's fiscal crisis.
(Reporting By Angela Moon, editing by Dave Zimmerman)
