Stock futures track rise in global equities, oil

[May 25, 2016]  By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Wednesday, mirroring global equities, as oil prices rose and investors got more comfortable with the prospect of interest rate hike as early as this summer.

* Easing concerns over several major global risks helped stock markets worldwide rise robustly for a second day. Traders say several polls show Britain will vote strongly to stay in the European Union.

* Euro zone finance ministers agreed with Greece and the International Monetary Fund on a deal that will address Athens' requests for debt relief.

* Oil rose toward $50 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time in seven months, driven by expectations that shrinking supply will help erode any overhang of unwanted crude.

* U.S. stocks surged more than 1 percent on Tuesday and the Nasdaq had its strongest day in three months.

* So far in 2016, the S&P 500 is up about 2 percent and the Nasdaq is down 3 percent.

* Traders are now pricing in a 37.5 percent chance for a June rate hike, up from just 4 percent last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

* Fed speakers scheduled to speak later on Wednesday include Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker, Minneapolis Fed Chief Neel Kashkari and Dallas Fed Chief Robert Kaplan.

* Shares of Computer Sciences soared 24.8 percent to $44.49 in premarket trading after Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it would spin off and merge its struggling IT services business with the company. Hewlett Packard Enterprise was up 9.8 percent at $17.85.

* Tiffany fell 4.4 percent to $61.05 after reporting its steepest sales drop in six quarters and forecasting a fall in its full-year profit.

* Sarepta Therapeutics jumped 15.2 percent to $21.25 after the FDA delayed its decision on the company's muscle-wasting drug.

* Apparel retailer Express slumped 15.8 percent to $13.50 after its results missed expectations.

Futures snapshot at 7:09 a.m. ET (1109 GMT):

* S&P 500 e-minis  were up 7.25 points, or 0.35 percent, with 169,549 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 18.5 points, or 0.42 percent, on volume of 21,027 contracts.

* Dow e-minis  were up 60 points, or 0.34 percent, with 21,224 contracts changing hands.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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