Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday after Greece's parliament passed an unpopular austerity plan critical to avoiding a debt default.

Greece's parliament approved a five-year austerity plan, suggesting Prime Minister George Papandreou was on track to win backing for a second law on Thursday.

For the last several days investors have been happy to discount a successful passage of the bill, so while the risk on mood continues, but there is an element of buy the rumor, sell the news, said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Anticipation of passage sparked a two-session rally, helping to erase losses partly brought on by the Greece crisis. But the gains came on anemic volume, suggesting investors were cautious and further upside could be [ID:nATH006217]

Futures came off session highs early in the morning after a Greek ruling party deputy voted against the measure, but Wall Street was still on track for a third straight day of gains as it eventually passed.

S&P 500 futures rose 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 gained 32 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 3 points.

Bank of America Corp expects to take more than $20 billion in charges after settling with mortgage bond investors, resulting in a second-quarter loss. The $8.5 billion settlement removed a question mark that had hovered over the bank since October, and its shares rallied 4 percent to $11.25 in premarket trading.

Bank of America is giving some relief to financials, said Gerard Greenberg, vice president of institutional sales at Merlin Securities in New York. While they're taking a decent-sized loss, the market values certainty and this helps remove some of the overhang that's been with the stock for a few quarters now.

May pending home sales are scheduled for release at 10 a.m. <1400 GMT> and are seen rising 3.8 percent after a steep fall in the previous month. Somewhat positive housing data on Tuesday lifted optimism over the hobbled sector.

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc rose 4.8 percent to $50.40 premarket after agreeing to be bought by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners and another group in a deal valued at about $2.8 billion.

Monsanto Co rose 3.2 percent to $69.03 before the bell after its third-quarter earnings topped expectations, but General Mills Inc was down 2.2 percent to $36.40 after it gave a weak outlook.

Overseas, Japan's industrial production rose faster than expected, suggesting a rebound after the country's recent earthquake and tsunami.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, and the S&P is up more than 2 percent so far this week.

Japan