Futures steady ahead of Yellen speech, Greek vote

By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors await Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments on raising interest rates and the outcome of a Greek parliament vote on the terms of a third bailout.

* Bank of America's (NYSE: BAC) quarterly profit more than doubled as legal costs dropped sharply, driving expenses down to their lowest since 2008. Its shares rose 2.5 percent to $17.55 in premarket trading.

* At her semi-annual testimony on monetary policy, Yellen is likely to face questions on how concerns such as the Chinese stock market slump and the Greece crisis will affect the Fed's decision to lift rates. The testimony is at 10 a.m. ET. A copy of her speech will be available at 8:30 a.m.

* Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is struggling to persuade deeply unhappy leftist lawmakers to vote for a package of austerity measures and economic reforms to secure a new bailout.

* China's second quarter gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 7 percent, slightly higher than analysts' forecast, but the data failed to stem the slide in its stock markets where a quarter of stocks are still suspended.

* The uncertainty in the Chinese market and the strong dollar will be in focus this U.S. earnings season. Corporate America is expected to report its worst sales decline in nearly six years in the second quarter, while profit is expected to have fallen 2.9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.

* Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) will report results before the bell, while Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) are scheduled to report after the close.

* Receptos (NASDAQ: RCPT) jumped 10.2 percent to $228.40, a day after Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) said it will the smaller biotech company for $7.2 billion. Celegene was up 5.9 percent at $130.20.

* Among a raft of economic data due Wednesday, the Fed will releases June industrial output data, which is expected to have increased 0.2 percent after falling 0.2 percent in May. The data is due at 9:15 a.m. ET.

* The Fed will also issue, at 2 p.m. ET, its so-called Beige Book, an compendium of anecdotes on the health of the economy.

* Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) slipped 1.6 percent to $90.50 after the owner of Pizza Hut and KFC reported its fourth straight quarter of falling sales.

* Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) will trade on Wednesday for the first time after a seven-for-one stock split.

(Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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