LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures on Wednesday advanced to kick off the third quarter as traders watched to see if a key manufacturing gauge showed signs of improvement that similar polls in China, the U.K. and the euro zone did. S&P 500 futures rose 5.3 points to 920.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 9.75 points to 1,486.00. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33 points. Led by Bank of America, American Express and Alcoa, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the second quarter with an 11% rise, with the S&P 500 rising 15% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing 20%. The gains came on signals the world may be escaping recession and that the credit crunch was thawing. Some expressed concern at a recent wilting of stocks. "The great springtime global equity market rally of 2009 is now fading," said Aaron Gurwitz, head of global investment strategy at Barclays Wealth, who suggested "caution" for the next quarter or so. But investors in foreign markets didn't greet the new quarter with caution. Viewpoints: Soros on Obama and Ailing Banks Soros Fund Management Chairman George Soros talks to WSJ Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray about how the Obama administration has done to date and what he would do with the banks. The Shanghai Composite climbed 1.7% to move over the 3,000 mark for the first time in more than a year, and Europe markets also strengthened, with the FTSE 100 rising 1.2% in London. The gains came as the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing said its purchasing managers' index rose for a fourth straight month. Similar gauges in the U.K. and the euro zone also rose, though those measures were below the level that indicates economic expansion. A Japanese gauge of business activity for the second quarter rose but came in below expectations. The Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing gauge headlines a crowded release schedule for the U.S., with releases also due on ADP employment, pending home sales, construction spending, car sales and weekly energy inventories. Weekly mortgage applications dropped 19%. Ahead of the data, the dollar rose against the yen but fell vs. the euro. Oil futures rose $1.32 to $71.23 a barrel. Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds edged 1 basis point higher to 3.55%. Yields move in the opposite direction to prices. General Mills (GIS 57.00, +0.98, +1.75%) early Wednesday forecast 6% to 7% growth in fiscal 2010 earnings, assuming no mark-to-market hits on commodity positions, as the group reported a 94% improvement in fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. Oshkosh Corp. (OSK 19.10, +4.56, +31.36%) surged 20% in pre-market trade after winning a $1.05 billion order to supply all-terrain vehicles to the U.S. Army. Navistar International (NAV 40.50, -3.10, -7.11%) and Force Protection (FRPT 6.44, -2.40, -27.15%) slumped after losing out on the same deal. Citigroup (C 3.00, +0.03, +1.01%) inked a deal to sell a Japanese trust division to Nomura (NMR 8.43, +0.01, +0.12%) for $197 million.

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