U.S. stock futures climbed, erasing an earlier loss, as Asian equities rallied on signs of stronger growth in China and Japan, the region’s two biggest economies.

Standard & Poor’s 500 futures expiring in December rose 0.3 percent to 1,239.30 at 1:22 p.m. in Tokyo. The contract earlier lost as much as 0.7 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index jumped 2.5 percent after Japan’s exports increased faster than estimated and an indicator of Chinese manufacturing activity rose to its highest level in five months.

“Companies are making money,” Alan Gayle, a senior strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia, which oversees about $47 billion, said in a telephone interview. “If we can ease some of the risks related to the European Union, the market has further room to move higher.”

The S&P 500 ended last week at the highest level since Aug. 3, two days before S&P stripped the U.S. of its AAA credit rating, amid optimism Europe’s leaders would announce a plan to contain the debt crisis and after McDonald’s Corp. joined companies beating profit estimates. The stock index has surged 13 percent since Oct. 3, when it closed within 1 percent of a bear market, or a 20 percent plunge, from its high in April.

U.S. stock futures declined earlier today after leaders of the euro zone ruled out tapping the European Central Bank to boost the region’s rescue fund as they inched toward a revamped strategy to contain the debt crisis. The 13th crisis-management summit in 21 months excluded a forced restructuring of Greece’s debt, sticking with the policy of enticing bondholders to accept “voluntary” losses to help restore the country’s finances. The complete blueprint will be formed Oct. 26.