* Alcoa drops after quarterly profit misses estimate
* Pepsi gains as earnings top view
* Indexes up: Dow 0.5 pct, S&P 0.7 pct, Nasdaq 0.8 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to open)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Wednesday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its sixth winning day in the past seven on optimism that Slovakia would reach a deal to expand the euro zone rescue fund.
Slovakian lawmakers were expected to ratify the rescue fund plan. The country's parliament failed to approve a deal on Tuesday as the opposition party abstained as a way to help topple the government. Slovakia is the last country in the 17-member currency zone left to approve it. For details, see [ID:nL5E7LC0JT] and [ID:nTOPEURO]
German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in, saying she expected full ratification by the European Union summit on Oct. 23. [ID:nB4E7KT01M]
"It's like no bad news, we get to go up as long as you don't see any horror stories," said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago. "At the moment it appears as if Europe has at least contained the crisis."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 57.07 points, or 0.50 percent, to 11,473.37. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX><.INX> added 8.26 points, or 0.69 percent, to 1,203.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> advanced 21.68 points, or 0.84 percent, to 2,604.71.
Financials were among the best performers, with the KBW
Bank index <.BKX> up 1.3 percent. JPMorgan Chase & Co
Alcoa Inc
But PepsiCo Inc
Liz Claiborne Inc
Later in the session, investors will also keep an eye on the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its Sept. 20-21 meeting, to be released at 2 p.m. EDT. (1800 GMT) (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)