US STOCKS-Futures rise after Spain unveils austerity plan

                                
   * Spain announces sweeping austerity measures
                                
 * Disney falls after quarterly results
                                
 * Futures up: S&P 6.6 pts, Dow 37 pts, Nasdaq 11.75 pts
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
  (Writes through, adds details, quote, byline)
                                
 By Leah Schnurr
                                
 NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Wednesday as Spain said it would take wide austerity
measures, further easing jitters over euro-zone sovereign debt
woes.
                                
 The euro strengthened and European shares rose following
the announcement. The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> gained 1
percent, boosted by financial shares after strong results from
banks.
                                
 Investors have feared that a debt crisis in Greece could
spill over to other euro-zone nations with high debt loads,
including Spain. For details, see [ID:nLDE64B0SK]
                                
 Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said
Madrid would slash civil service pay by 5 percent this year,
freeze it in 2011 and cut 13,000 public sector jobs this year
in a drive to meet European Union deficit targets.
                                
 Spain's move followed a 750 billion euro ($1 trillion)
rescue plan late Sunday to stop the debt woes from spreading,
cheering U.S. investors.
                                
 "There are certainly those people who will see the steps
taken in Europe as a replay of the type of steps taken in the
U.S. following the Lehman collapse," said Rick Meckler,
president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in
New York. "Ultimately that proved to be successful in the short
run for markets."
                                
 Concerns over a spreading debt crisis have "been the
biggest fear for U.S. equity players, and as that fear
subsides, we're more likely to see a positive spin to the
market," Meckler added.
                                
 S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 6.6 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 <DJc1> added 37
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> gained 11.75 points.
                                
 Shares of Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> fell 3 percent to $34.70
in premarket trading after the entertainment and media group
reported lower ratings and ad revenues as well as higher costs
despite better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
[ID:nN11225225]
                                
 U.S. investigators are probing whether Morgan Stanley
<MS.N> misled investors about mortgage derivative products it
sold and sometimes bet against, the Wall Street Journal
reported, citing sources. Morgan Stanley shares were down 3.1
percent at $27.51 premarket. [ID:nTOE64B07I]
                                
 The Dow and the S&P 500 fell in a volatile session on
Tuesday on concerns about euro-zone debt.
                                
 Data on tap for the day includes international trade for
March. [ECI/US]
                                
 Top oil executives will face a second day of questioning
from U.S. lawmakers over a deadly well rupture that unleashed a
huge oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. [ID:nN11133984]
                                
 Following last week's dramatic intraday plunge in U.S.
markets, securities regulators sent out subpoenas as they seek
to uncover the cause of the drop. [ID:nN11130381]
  (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)