June 5 (Reuters) -ICE cotton futures rose on Wednesday as investors covered short positions ahead of the export sales data due later this week and upbeat sentiment in the equities market also lent support.

* Cotton contracts for July CTc1 rose 1.21 cent, or 1.65%, at 74.69 cents per lb by 1:22 p.m. ET (1722 GMT).

* Cotton futures fell for a fourth consecutive session to their lowest level in 19 months on Monday.

* The market has been down for four consecutive days, it's become short term over sold, so traders are short covering, said Keith Brown, principal at cotton broker Keith Brown and Co. in Georgia.

* Cotton prices have been in a slump because of a strong U.S. dollar, which has led to China opting to buy from Brazil more than the U.S., Brown added. USD/

* ICE cotton speculators trimmed net short position by 7,803 contracts to 20,416 in week to May 28 on Friday.

* Further helping the market,the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged up as investors strengthened bets for an earlier-than-expected start to the Federal Reserve's easing cycle..N

* Traders' focus will now turn towards the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly export sales report due on Thursday.

* Meanwhile, Chicago wheat was little changed after hitting a two-week low earlier in the session on receding concern over weather-related damage to Russian crops. GRA/

Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid