European stock index futures point to higher open

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - European stock index futures pointed to a higher start on Wednesday, tracking a bounce in global stocksas investors took heart from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman saying further lifelines may be available for banks. At 0607 GMT, futures for the Eurostoxx 50 STXEc1, Germany's DAX FDXc1 and the French CAC 40 FCEc1 were all up about 1 percent. The pan-European FTSEurofirst dropped 1.5 percent in the previous session.

But investors may trade cautiously as political tensions in the Middle East mounted after Iran's state media said the country had test-fired nine missiles, including one which it has previously said could travel as far as Israel and U.S. bases in the region. [ID:nDAH915442].

The news prompted Asian stocks to pare earlier strong gains, with Japan's Nikkei .N225 up just 0.2 percent, way off earlier highs.

Major Wall Street indexes added 1.4 to 2.3 percent on Tuesday after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank may keep an emergency lending facility for big Wall Street firms open longer than it initially intended.

Crude oil rose towards $137 a barrel on Wednesday, but far from recent record highs after it shed more than $5 the day before. (Reporting by Rebekah Curtis and Blaise Robinson)