Stock index futures signaled a stronger start for equities on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq up 0.1 to 0.2 percent by 0854 GMT.

* Some caution, however, was expected to prevail as Greece's parliament begins on Monday to debate a deeply unpopular austerity plan which the European Union and International Monetary Fund say will need to be approved in exchange for the fifth tranche of Greece's 110 billion euros bailout program.

* A parliamentary ballot on the framework austerity package is expected on Wednesday, with lawmakers then due to vote on Thursday on a bill containing specific steps to implement it. The euro dropped to its lowest since June 16 against the dollar on uncertainty over the outcome of the vote.

* Wall Street fell for a third day on Friday on worries about the Italian banking sector and Greece's debt crisis, but the S&P 500 <.SPX> managed to hold its 200-day moving average in a sign buyers still see value.

* Economic data set for release on Monday include May's reading of the Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing, personal income and core PCE numbers, all due at 1230 GMT.

* In company news, Nike reports fourth quarter numbers, with analysts expecting the firm's earnings per share (EPS) to rise to $1.16 from $1.06 a year earlier.

* Tobacco giant Philip Morris

is threatening to sue the Australian government for possibly billions of dollars over its plan to be the first country to introduce plain, brand-less packaging for cigarettes.

* A new type of diabetes pill being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca was effective in a two-year study but more bladder and breast cancers have been found in patients treated with the drug.

* Big-box retailers Wal-Mart Stores and Kmart, pioneers in the push to cut consumer prices for generic drugs, have been raising prices for the most popular brand-name diabetes drugs, according to a new study.

* Citigroup Inc , the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, has told government officials that about 3,400 of the customers whose credit card information was hacked have suffered about $2.7 million in losses, the Wall Street Journal reported.

* In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> of top shares was slightly higher in early trade, with carmakers among the top risers.

(Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)