* BofA gains after mortgage bond settlement
* BJ's Wholesale up after private equity buyout deal
* Monsanto up after results, General Mills down on outlook
* Indexes: Dow up 0.2 pct, S&P up 0.4 pct, Nasdaq flat
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to open)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher on Wednesday after Greece's parliament passed an unpopular austerity plan key to avoiding a debt default.
The parliament approved a five-year package of spending cuts, tax rises and state asset sales by a comfortable margin, handing a big victory to the embattled prime minister. For details, see [ID:nL6E7HT0PS]
Anticipation of the bill's passage sparked a two-session rally, with the S&P up more than 2 percent this week, but equities were off their earlier highs.
"It's positive for the markets ... one of the biggest policy issues this summer coming to a conclusion," said John Augustine, chief investment strategist at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati. "As with most big market moving events, it's 'buy on the rumor, sell on the news.'"
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 29.48 points, or 0.24 percent, at 12,218.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 4.69 points, or 0.36 percent, at 1,301.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> put on 0.81 points, or 0.03 percent, at 2,730.12.
Bank of America Corp
BJ's Wholesale Club Inc
Monsanto Co