Intel, JP Morgan results lift stock futures

Intel, the world's top chipmaker, rose about 5 percent to $23.82 premarket after it gave a sales and margin forecast that trounced expectations, solidifying hopes for an acceleration in the tech sector's recovery.

Also supporting the view that business and consumer spending will increase this year was an upbeat sales forecast from top contract chipmaker TSMC and solid results from Dutch chip equipment maker ASML.

JP Morgan Chase & Co advanced 3.4 percent to $47.42 premarket after the New York-based bank reported a jump in first-quarter earnings as revenue from its investment bank offset losses on consumer loans.

We have two good reports, from Intel and JPMorgan, and we have economic data today that is likely to beat expectations, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

The results confirm what we have been expecting, solid first-quarter earnings and downplays some of the bad news we got earlier, such as Alcoa's results.

Economic data includes retail sales and consumer prices for March at 8:30 a.m. EDT and February's business inventories at 10 a.m. EDT.

The (retail sales) numbers obviously should confirm the consumer spending is beginning to kick in the economic expansion. added Cardillo.

Investors will also eye the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, set for release at 2 p.m. EDT for any clues into when the central bank will be adjusting its monetary policy.

S&P 500 futures SPc1> rose 5.4 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 45 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 11.75 points.

European stocks extended gains on Wednesday with technology shares advancing after Intel's strong results and JP Morgan reported a quarterly results.

Asian stocks rode the rally in the technology sector triggered by Intel's earnings and regional currencies rose after Singapore's aggressive monetary tightening triggered speculation it heralded a yuan revaluation.

U.S. stocks eked out a gain on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to earnings from bug banks and tech bellwethers, even as disappointing revenue from Alcoa acted as a headwind.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Additional reporting by Angela Moon, editing by W Simon and Jeffrey Benkoe)