Stock futures imply third day of gains, Oracle rallies

Stock futures rose on Wednesday as the latest offers in ongoing U.S. budget negotiations underlined hopes for a deal, while technology shares were lifted by strong results from Oracle.

* Tech shares will be in focus a day after Oracle Corp reported earnings that beat expectations on strong software sales growth. Shares rose 2.1 percent to $33.56 in premarket trading.

* Companies scheduled to report quarterly results include General Mills Inc and Jabil Circuit .

* FexEx Corp is also on tap to report, and the package shipping company, which is viewed as a proxy for economic activity, is seen posting a decline in its profit as corporate customers choose slower and cheaper ways of shipping goods, translating into lower earnings for the company.

* Knight Capital Group agreed to sell itself to Getco Holding Company LLC, beating rival high-speed trading firm Virtu Financial LLC, according to two people close to the negotiations. Shares of Knight rose more than 6 percent in premarket activity before trading was suspended.

* Industrial machinery maker SPX Corp is closing in on a roughly $4.2 billion deal to buy rival Gardner Denver Inc , as it makes progress in securing financing, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)