U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wednesday as a report showed private employers cut fewer jobs in February, adding to optimism ahead of a critical employment report later in the week.

The ADP Employment report showed U.S. private employers shed 20,000 jobs in February, matching the consensus estimate in a Reuters survey, and fewer than the 60,000 jobs cut in January.

Given the likelihood of some potential impact of weather, it's probably better than last month when we had a very similar decline, said David Resler, chief economist, at Nomura Securities International in New York.

This is a positive sign that we are turning the corner toward job growth.

The U.S. employment report for February is due on Friday.

Greece's cabinet on Wednesday decided to take extra measures worth $6.49 billion to ensure it reaches key fiscal goals this year, a government source said. The country's debt crisis, and uncertainty over European Union financial support, has weighed on the euro currency and global markets in recent weeks.

At 10 a.m., the Institute for Supply Management releases its February non-manufacturing index. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a reading of 51.0 versus 50.5 in January.

At 2 p.m., the U.S. Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book measuring economic activity across its 12 districts.

S&P 500 futures added 2.2 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 17 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.75 points.

Merger activity continues to rise, as Pfizer Inc

is set to present a nearly $4 billion offer for German generic-drug maker Ratiopharm GmbH this week, competing against rival bids from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Actavis, sources familiar with the situation said.

But Pfizer shares slipped 1 percent to $17.43 after the company said its Alzheimer's drug, Dimebon, being developed with Medivation Inc , did not meet co-primary or secondary endpoints in two Phase 3 studies.

Medivation shares plummeted 67.8 percent to $12.98.

Novell Inc surged 28.4 percent to $6.11 after investment fund Elliott Associates offered to buy the business software maker for $2 billion.

Costco Wholesale Corp shares lost 3.9 percent to $58.97 and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc fell 4 percent to $35.01 in light trade at $36.47 after the rivals posted quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street expectations.

(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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