Stock index futures rose on Wednesday, boosted by gains in Europe, as investors awaited new data for a better assessment on the health of the economy, including the weak labor sector.

At 8:15 a.m. EDT (1215 GMT), Automatic Data Processing (ADP) will release its August employment report. Economists expected 100,000 jobs were created in August, versus 114,000 created in July.

The Institute for Supply Management-New York will release at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT) its August index of regional business activity. In the previous month, the index read 538.8.

At 9:45 a.m. EDT (1345 GMT), the Institute of Supply Management-Chicago releases its August index of manufacturing activity. Economists forecast a reading of 53.5 in the month, compared with 58.8 in July.

The Commerce Department reports July factory orders at 10:00 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Economists forecast a rise of 1.9 percent, compared with a 0.8 percent drop in the prior month.

S&P 500 futures gained 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 rose 86 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 19.5 points.

The S&P was on track to end the month lower. By Tuesday's close, the index was down more than 6 percent for August, its steepest monthly decline since May, 2010.

U.S. authorities have been investigating whether software maker Oracle Corp's dealings in Africa violated federal anti-bribery laws, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

Bank of America Corp is looking to sell its correspondent mortgage business and the unit's employees could be notified as soon as Wednesday, the Journal reported, citing sources.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares rose 1.4 percent, extending the previous session's steep gains on hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon add new stimulus to boost the economy.

U.S. stocks rose for a third straight day on Tuesday in a volatile session after the latest Federal Reserve minutes boosted expectations about new stimulus.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)