LONDON (MarketWatch) — Wall Street was poised for another positive session on Wednesday, with futures nudging higher ahead of a raft of economic data and the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting. Hopes that Greece will reach a debt deal with its international creditors also helped lift sentiment. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH5, +0.14% added 6 points to 18,007, while those or the Nasdaq 100 index NDH5, +0.11% put on 2.75 points to 4,384.50. Futures for the S&P 500 index SPH5, -0.01% slipped 0.30 point to 2,095.60. The small gains follow slightly positive session on Tuesday, when sentiment got some boost from reports that Greece may ask for a six-month loan extension. The request is expected on Wednesday, and the conditions of such an agreement are reportedly under negotiation. Germany has already said it won’t accept a mere loan agreement without a formal extension of Greece’s current bailout program, including the strict austerity conditions attached. The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF GREK, -2.48% dropped 3.8% ahead of the bell. See: Why the ECB’s unlikely to cut off emergency funds to Greek banks Data: Kicking off an action-packed data day, the producer-price index and housing-starts data come out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect producer prices to have dropped 0.5% in January month-on-month, down from a 0.3% fall in December. For housing starts, estimates are for 1.07 million in January, up slightly from 1.06 million the prior month. At 9:15 a.m. Eastern Time, industrial production is forecast to show a 0.4% improvement in January, after a 0.1% drop in December. Capacity utilization comes out at the same time, expected to have risen to 79.9% in January, from 79.7% the previous month, according to MarketWatch estimates. FOMC minutes: The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting on Jan. 27-28 are due at 2 p.m. Eastern, in the middle of the U.S. trading day. At the meeting, Federal Reserve policy makers told investors they would be “patient� about hiking short-term interest rates, and market participants will scrutinize the minutes to see whether any of the top Fed officials actually wanted to drop that phraseology. Earnings: Reporting before the opening bell, hotel chain Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. HLT, +1.22% said fourth-quarter adjusted earnings rose to 17 cents, slightly missing analyst estimates. The company, however, said it was optimistic about 2015. Shares climbed 1.2% premarket. Also reporting ahead of the bell, satellite TV-provider DISH Network Corp. DISH, -0.61% is expected to post quarterly earnings of 43 cents a share, according to a FactSet survey of analysts. Airline Virgin America Inc. VA, +1.11% is seen reporting quarterly per-share profit of 79 cents. As for companies reporting after the markets close, solar-power company SolarCity Corp. SCTY, -3.66% is expected to post a quarterly loss of $1.27 a share. Marathon Oil Corp. MRO, +0.13% is seen delivering quarterly earnings of 4 cents a share. Hotel operator Marriott International Inc. MAR, +0.05% is forecast to report quarterly profit of 65 cents a share. Movers and shakers: Varonis Systems Inc. VRNS, +10.47% jumped 11% ahead of the bell after the IT company late Tuesday reported a 36% rise in full-year revenues. Rackspace Hosting Inc. RAX, -2.75% fell 2.8% in premarket action after the cloud-computing company late Tuesday posted a sharp increase in profit, but predicted first-quarter revenue will be below Wall Street estimates. Other markets: European stock markets moved firmly higher, boosted by optimism that the Greek debt drama could soon come to an end. Asian markets also got a lift from Greece and closed with gains. Crude-oil prices CLH5, -1.48% fell more than 1%, while metals prices were mostly lower as well. The dollar DXY, +0.20% rose against most other major currencies.

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