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 Better-than-expected profit results from Walt Disney Co. seemed to lift Wall Street's mood. Disney posted a 26 percent decline in profit late Tuesday, but the results beat expectations; the company reported a 9 percent rise in revenue, thanks in part to the success of brands such as ESPN, "High School Musical" and "Hanna Montana."
Stocks plummeted Tuesday, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down 370 points after the Institute for Supply Management reported a surprising January contraction in the U.S. service sector
-- news that bolstered the argument that the nation is in recession. The Dow's nearly 3 percent drop was the widest percentage drop since Feb. 27, 2007.
Government data on fourth-quarter productivity is scheduled to arrive at 8:30 a.m. EST, and could calm economic jitters somewhat if results come in as expected
-- showing productivity rising and costs declining.
Dow futures rose 40, or 0.32 percent, to 12,360. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 7.40, or 0.55 percent, to 1,350.60, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 6.75, or 0.38 percent, to 1,791.75.
In earnings news Wednesday, Time Warner Inc. posted a profit decline in its fourth quarter. But excluding the effect of a year-ago gain from the sale of AOL's online access business in Europe, profit rose due to better results at the media conglomerate's cable TV and movie operations.
Cigna Corp., the health insurer, reported a 13 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit, thanks to higher premiums and fees from specialty insurance and Medicare Part D.
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 And Toll Brothers Inc. said revenues fell 22 percent during its fiscal first quarter, and that is not "seeing much light at the end of the tunnel."
In addition to earnings, investors will be listening to Fed officials Jeffrey Lacker, Randall Kroszner and Charles Plosser speak Wednesday, as well as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who will be testifying before the Senate Budget Committee.
Politics could also come into play on Wall Street. Investors have been trying to determine who the presidential nominees will be, and while Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton are leading the delegate counts after Tuesday's primaries, nothing is certain yet.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Light, sweet crude oil rose 32 cents at $88.73 a barrel in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas stocks were mixed. Japan's Nikkei stock average dropped 4.7 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 5.4 percent. In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.09 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.34 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.33 percent.
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On the Net:
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[Associated Press; By MADLEN READ]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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