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 In addition to reports on worker productivity and costs, investors will be awaiting the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report on economic conditions in various parts of the country. The findings arrive two weeks before the central bank's next meeting.
Wall Street remains concerned about whether the economy will slip into recession and is hungry for any insights that could help indicate how consumers and businesses are faring. Investors expect quarterly reports Wednesday from names such as Costco Wholesale Corp., H&R Block Inc. and Saks Inc.
Erratic trading in Tuesday's session illustrates the market's indecision about the economy. Stocks finished mixed after recovering from a sizable pullback amid rumors that a bond insurer rescue plan is moving ahead and on comments from Cisco Systems Inc. about its business.
The somewhat upbeat mood continued Wednesday. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 37, or 0.30 percent, to 12,259. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 4.20, or 0.32 percent, to 1,331.20, and Nasdaq 100 index futures advanced 9.75, or 0.56 percent, to 1,752.25.
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 Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.58 percent from 3.63 percent late Tuesday.
The dollar was mostly higher against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
Light, sweet crude rose 85 cents to $100.37 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.16 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.53 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 1.28 percent, and France's CAC-40 advanced 1.19 percent.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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