LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures pointed to a modest rise for Wall Street on Wednesday before data that may give some taste of Friday's employment report and as hopes grew for a prompt rescue for bond insurer Ambac Financial .
Financial shares were among the major movers among top U.S. stocks traded in Europe. Shares in Citigroup , which on Tuesday fell by more than 4 percent on concern about its possible losses, rose by 3.2 percent from their last close in Frankfurt to 14.7 euros .
Bank of America rallied 1.4 percent from its last European close to 25.49 euros .
By 1030 GMT March Dow Jones futures were unchanged, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up between 0.2 and 0.3 percent.
The indicative Dow Jones index <.DJII> was down 0.7 percent at 12,130.08 points.
Tech stocks looked set to rally, having pared losses on Tuesday after the chief executive of Cisco Systems said he had grown more confident in the company's long-term targets for revenue growth.
Cisco shares were up 0.5 percent from their last European close at 15.96 euros in Frankfurt , having closed down 0.5 percent on the Nasdaq on Tuesday.
On the data front, investors will get a look at private-sector employment and the number of layoffs in February in two separate reports before Friday's non-farm payrolls figures, as well as a measure of the strength of the mammoth U.S. services sector.
"Despite the signs of optimism there is little news that points to the gains being sustainable," said Claire Collingwood, a dealer at CMC Markets, in a note.#
"With some (economic) figures out before the open we could see the index futures picture change however currently we are looking at a slightly stronger open when the markets open later this afternoon."
Talks on a solution to ailing bond insurer Ambac Financial Group's problems are continuing, a person briefed on the matter said on Tuesday, after CNBC television said a deal was near, pushing Ambac shares up nearly 8 percent and helping the U.S. market cut losses during the session's last hour.
In Europe, shares in Ambac were up by more than 17 percent from their last close in Frankfurt at 7.20 euros , while those in rival MBIA were up 6.2 percent from their last close in Frankfurt at 8.60 euros .
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> ended Tuesday down 45.10 points, or 0.37 percent, to 12,213.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 4.59 points, or 0.34 percent, to 1,326.75. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> inched up 1.68 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,260.28.
Other data on Wednesday include weekly mortgage index figures, as well as revised quarterly productivity and labour costs data and revised durable goods orders.
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