* February producer price index on tap
* Staples bids to buy out Corporate Express Australia
* Futures up: Dow 29 pts, S&P 500 2.9 pts; Nasdaq 5 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
rose on Wednesday on par with global stocks as a renewed
promise of extended low interest rates from the Federal Reserve
enticed investors into riskier assets.
Crude oil prices rose nearly 1 percent to $82.33 a barrel,
supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and an industry report that
showed a steep fall in U.S. gasoline stockpiles.
"Continued low interest rates have left us with nothing but
short-term buyers," said Rick Meckler, president of LibertyView
Capital Management in New York. "There's very little new bad
news."
Investors awaited economic data in the form of February's
producer price index, due at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT). Month over
month, seasonally-adjusted prices are expected to fall 0.2
percent.
S&P 500 futures <SPc2> rose 2.9 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 <DJc2> gained 29
points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc2> added 5 points.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc <HIG.N> dropped about
1 percent in premarket trade as the company announced a plan on
Tuesday to repay the U.S. Treasury.
Discover Financial Services <DFS.N>, the sixth-largest U.S.
credit card issuer, also said Tuesday it received regulatory
approval to pay back $1.2 billion in taxpayer bailout funds and
posted a quarterly loss.
U.S. office products retailer Staples Inc <SPLS.O> offered
to buy out minority shareholders of Corporate Express Australia
<CXP.AX> for A$390 million in a deal long-awaited since Staples
took over the group's Dutch parent. For details see
[].
GMAC's Residential Capital unit is attracting early buyer
interest from companies including BlackRock Inc <BLK.N> and
Blackstone Group <BX.N>, but a deal for the troubled mortgage
lender will be difficult to pull off, sources familiar with the
matter told Reuters. []
Simon Property Group Inc <SPG.N> is weighing a higher bid
for General Growth Properties Inc <GGP.N> after the No. 2 U.S.
mall owner came up with a rival plan to emerge from bankruptcy
as a stand-alone company, two sources familiar with the matter
said on Tuesday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will defend the
central bank's supervision of smaller banks on Wednesday, the
Wall Street Journal said, in a hearing before the House of
Representatives Financial Services Committee.
Chinese firms selling advertising space on Google Inc's
<GOOG.O> search pages have demanded clarity about the Internet
company's plans, warning they will demand compensation if
Google shuts its Chinese portal.
Implanted devices from Boston Scientific Corp <BSX.N>
helped patients with early heart failure in a study, but the
benefits may be less significant in the marketplace, U.S.
regulators said in documents released on Tuesday.
Pfizer Inc <PFE.N> on Wednesday will place an offer in the
final round of bids for German generic drug maker Ratiopharm, a
person briefed on the matter told Reuters.
Dubai World will offer banks a single proposal to repay in
full the $26 billion debt it is renegotiating, with interest
likely linked to Libor, Al Arabiya reported on Wednesday.
[]
The Nikkei average hit an eight-week closing high on
Wednesday after the Bank of Japan eased policy in a move seen
by many as an attempt to prevent the yen from rising, while
European stocks were up in morning trade, led higher by banking
shares.
U.S. stocks rose to a fresh 17-month high on Tuesday after
the Fed held benchmark rates near zero and maintained its
pledge to keep them low for an extended period.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
