NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks could open lower Wednesday on high oil prices ahead of the latest reading on inventory levels.

U.S. stock futures were down in early trading, following a mixed day for markets Tuesday.

Oil prices were moving up towards the $50 a barrel mark in early trading ahead of the weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories, due at 10:30 a.m. ET. Prices were little changed in Tuesday trading.

The July light crude contract gained 15 cents to $49.82 a barrel in electronic trading, while the July contract for Brent crude rose two cents to $48.84

Major markets in Asia closed lower Wednesday. Major European markets were lower in early trading.

Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.01 percent from 4.03 percent late Tuesday. The dollar gained ground on the euro and the yen.

New orders for durable goods -- big ticket items meant to last three years or more -- jumped by a larger-than-expected 1.9 percent in April on a big rebound in transportation orders, a government report showed Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said durable orders excluding transportation dipped unexpectedly by 0.2 percent, and those orders were at their lowest dollar amount since December.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the orders of big ticket items would be up 1.3 percent, after a 2.3 percent decline in March.

The new home sales report due at 10 a.m. ET is expected to show a decline to an annual sales pace of 1.3 million homes, down from the record 1.4 million sales rate in March. April saw much better-than-expected existing home sales, which came in at a record annual pace in a report out Tuesday.

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