U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

Stocks are seen to rise slightly at the open Wednesday following positive earnings results from Amazon.com, as investors await reports on durable-goods orders and new home sales. Oil prices will be in focus as the latest U.S. inventory data, due at 10:30 a.m. is expected to show a fourth weekly decline in crude oil stock piles.

The Internet retailer Amazon posted second-quarter profit decline of 32% due to an income-tax expense, but results generally beat views on strong sales by independent merchants who sell through Amazon's Web site. Amazon raised its full-year outlook, and its shares jumped 11% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the financial results news.

Shares of Amazon.com gained more than 10% and Boeing (BA), which also boosted its outlook, jumped nearly 2% before the opening bell on the Inet electronic brokerage system.

ECONOMIC NEWS

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the June durable goods data at 8:30 a.m. Economists expect a 0.5% drop for durable goods orders in June on the average.

The Commerce Department is due to release the new-home sales data for June at 10:00 a.m. Economists are looking for a 0.2% increase to an annual rate of 1.300 million single-family homes versus a level of 1.298 million in May.

The Federal Reserve is due to release at 2:00 p.m. its latest Beige Book report summarizing economic activity throughout the country.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

Major Asian markets closed generally higher Wednesday. Tokyo shares closed up the dollar rise vs. the yen and some important corporate results inspired buying of major electronics and automakers stock. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.8% to close at 11,835.08. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished up 0.3% at 14, 817.47. Australia's All Ordinaries Index ended up 0.2% at 4,347.60, while Singapore's Straits Times Index gained 0.4% to 2,331.88. Seoul's Kospi index added 0.2% to 1,093.03 after S&P's boosted its debt ratings for South Korea to a seven-year high on increasing foreign-exchange reserves and stronger finances at lenders.

European shares advanced Wednesday, helped by steel producers such as Arcelor and Corus Group as investors scrutinized the flood of French corporate news. Chipmakers slid, following worse-than-expected results within the segment. Germany's DAX 30 index climbed 0.1% at 4,850, France's CAC 40 index added 0.4% to 4,438 and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index advanced 0.2% at 5,266.

ENERGY, METALS AND CURRENCIES MARKETS

Oil prices were slightly down ahead of Wednesday's weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories.

The September light crude futures contract for NYMEX dropped 24 cents to $58.96 a barrel in electronic trading, while the September contract for Brent crude declined 30 cents to $57.73.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost 1/32, or 31 cents per $1,000 invested, to yield 4.232%. The 30-year bond was unchanged to yield 4.451%. Yields move inversely to prices.

The dollar traded at 112.62 yen, up versus 112.51 late Tuesday, while the euro dropped to $1.1991 versus $1.2016.

EARNINGS NEWS

Kellogg (K) and ConocoPhillips (COP) are among the other major companies that are slated to report Wednesday.

WellPoint Inc. (WLP) reported second-quarter net income of 90 cents a share vs. 83 cents last year as revenue jumped to $11.3 billion vs. $4.61 billion on more than doubled premiums.

Monster Worldwide (MNST) reported a second-quarter profit from continuing operations of 21 cents per share, up vs. 12 cents per share last year. Analysts had expected the company to make 20 cents per share. Revenue rose 32% to $239 million. The company now expects earnings of 88-91 cents per share for the full year, with 23-24 cents per share in 3Q.