GLOBAL MARKETS-Euro ticks up, stocks rise as Greece fights for deal

(Updates prices, adds comment, changes byline)

* Stocks rebound after Tuesday losses

* Crude futures prices continue to slide

* Euro ticks up; dollar index higher as yen falls

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) - European stocks lead major markets higher on Wednesday and the euro edged up on signs, later dismissed, that Greece and its creditors were drafting an agreement that would provide Athens much-needed debt relief.

The U.S. dollar index added to the previous session's gains, boosted by an advance against the yen, and Nikkei futures rallied.

Greece's government said it is starting to draft an agreement with creditors including the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, but European officials quickly dismissed that as wishful thinking.

The rebuttal notwithstanding, market moves triggered by the Greek announcement mostly held into the end of the European session. The euro edged up against the U.S. dollar, European stocks rallied and U.S. stocks also gained.

"It clearly shows that the markets have got a reaction on all these occasions as they'd like to see a deal, a continuation of the euro zone as a whole," said IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"But you shouldn't really believe anything until the deal is officially on the table and the ink is dry. Until you reach that point, everything is just up in the air as it has been."

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 124.25 points, or 0.69 percent, to 18,165.79, the S&P 500 gained 17.91 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,122.11 and the Nasdaq Composite added 67.74 points, or 1.35 percent, to 5,100.49.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 1.3 percent higher after falling 1.1 percent in the previous three sessions.

Nikkei futures rose 1.1 percent on the back of a softer yen.

EURO TICKS UP, YEN FALLS

Even with the advance in the euro, the dollar index edged up to extend its previous day's rally. The greenback hit a fresh eight-year high against the yen at 124.06. A move above 124.16 would take the yen to its weakest since late 2002.

At $1.0891 per euro, the single currency rose 0.2 percent on the day.

"All those comments have to be taken with a big pinch of salt, but it's helping there are signs we are moving toward a deal," said Charles St. Arnaud, currency strategist at Nomura Securities International in New York in regard to news on Greece.

After tumbling nearly 3 percent on Tuesday, U.S. crude fell ahead of inventory data. It was last down 0.9 percent at $57.51 a barrel, while Brent fell 2.7 percent to $62 a barrel.

U.S. 30-year Treasury prices were last up 1/32 in price to yield 2.888 percent and benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were last down 3/32 to yield 2.146 percent, from a yield of 2.135 percent late Tuesday.

Spot gold was unchanged in a choppy session and silver fell 0.4 percent. (Additional reporting by Liisa Tuhkanen and Atul Prakash in London; Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)