US STOCKS-Wall St set to rebound as Bernanke, GDP eyed

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) U.S. stock futures jumped on Wednesday, pointing to a rebound when the market opens as investors viewed stocks as attractively priced following the market's worst slide since 2001.

Adding to a positive mood was a recovery by stocks in China where a sell-off had prompted a global rout in equity markets on Tuesday. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 4 percent on Wednesday, erasing nearly half of the previous day's losses.

The market's direction also may be set by fourth-quarter economic growth data and congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later on Wednesday.

''I think you have the first round of bottom fishing going on, and people will view this as an opportunity to buy some value stocks here,'' said Bill Schultz, who oversees 5 million in assets at McQueen Ball and Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

''We've come from a period where there was a little complacency and not much volatility, then all of a sudden you had this news coming from China....It was a shock to the system and now we have to decide how to go forward.'' Standard&Poor's 500 futures were up 11.5 points, above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 93 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 17 points.

In company news, home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc.

said it expected per-share profit to decline 4 percent to 9 percent this year as the weak U.S. housing market pressures sales. For details, see ID:nWEN4867 Bernanke, whose comments will come two days after his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, warned of the possibility of a recession in 2007, will be watched closely for any indication that the Fed may change its stance on interest rates.

Bernanke is due to speak at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).

The Commerce Department releases its second estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT).

Economists expect the report to show GDP growth slowed to an annualized pace of 2.4 percent, compared with a earlier estimate of 3.5 percent.

Also in economic news, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago releases its February index of manufacturing activity at 9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT). The Commerce Department will release new home sales for January at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).

U.S. stocks tumbled on Tuesday as the Chinese sell-off and a weak U.S. manufacturing sector report ignited global growth concerns, and investors rushed out of stocks to safe-haven assets like bonds.

Major stock indexes wiped out their gains for 2007 as the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI> slid 416.02 points, or 3.29 percent, to end at 12,216.24. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index .SPX> dropped 50.33 points, or 3.47 percent, to finish at 1,399.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC> sank 96.65 points, or 3.86 percent, to close at 2,407.87.

REUTERS KR KP1835