Stock futures up, Obama to name Yellen as Fed chair

TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. S&P 500 E-mini futures rose 0.3 percent in early Asian trade on Wednesday after a White House official said U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen to be the next head of the U.S. central Bank.

The gains in the S&P E-mini futures suggested a firmer open for U.S. stocks on Wednesday after the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GSPC) shed 1.2 percent on Tuesday as little progress was made to end political wrangling in Washington that could lead to a U.S. debt default.

(Reporting by Dominic Lau; Editing by Richard Pullin)