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US STOCKS-Futures higher after Bank of America results; data due

* Bank of America (TLO: BAC.TI - news) climbs in premarket after earnings

* Empire State manufacturing, PPI data due

* Futures up: Dow up 45, SPX (Stuttgart: SPW.SG - news) up 4.1 Nasdaq up 13.25

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) , Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, indicating the S&P 500 will build on its biggest gain in nearly a month, earnings from Bank of America and ahead of data on inflation and manufacturing.

* Bank of America shares climbed 2 percent to $17.10 before the opening bell after the second-largest U.S. bank reported an eight-fold jump in fourth-quarter profit, driven by a steep fall in provisions to cover bad loans.

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* The S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent on Tuesday, its biggest climb since Dec. 18, as a strong December retail sales reading eased concerns that economic growth might be slowing and stocks may be expensive.

* Economic data due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) includes Empire (Stockholm: EMP-B.ST - news) State manufacturing survey for January and the producer price index for December. The New York Fed data is expected to show a reading of 3.75 while producer prices are expected to rise 0.4 percent.

* Later in the session at 2:00 p.m. (1900 GMT), the Federal Reserve will release its Beige Book of economic conditions.

* Other S&P 500 companies scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday include CSX Corp (NYSE: CSX - news) and Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI - news) .

* Concerns have crept in among investors recently that stock prices may have become extended. The S&P 500's forward price to earnings ratio is at its highest level in nearly seven years. The benchmark S&P 500 surged about 30 percent in 2013.

* S&P 500 futures rose 4.1 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 45 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 13.25 points.

* General Motors Co gained 2.7 percent to $41.08 in premarket trade after the automaker said it will pay the first quarterly dividend on its common stock in almost six years.

* Chelsea Therapeutics International Ltd (NasdaqCM: CHTP - news) surged 154.4 percent to $5.85 in premarket after an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Tuesday a drug to treat a rare form of low blood pressure made by the company is effective enough to warrant regulatory approval.

* European shares rose to fresh 5-1/2 year highs, buoyed by a better global growth outlook from the World Bank, with gains supported by easing regulatory concerns over banks in the euro zone.

* Asian share markets were mostly higher as the World Bank upgraded its outlook for the global economy while the dollar extended gains in the wake of surprising strength in U.S. consumer spending.