NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks looked to pull back Wednesday from the post-Federal Reserve decision rally, as investors look ahead to the latest inflation reading.

U.S. stock futures were down, although a comparison to fair value indicate a flat to slightly lower opening for stocks.

Stocks gained Tuesday afternoon after the Fed raised rates another quarter-percentage point. But it suggested in its statement that while there were still rate hikes ahead, future increases would depend on readings of economic growth and inflation.

The markets initially took the report to mean the Fed is signaling it's near the end of its course of interest rate hikes that started in June 2004.

The first reading investors will get on inflation is the Consumer Price Index report for November, due at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the government's key inflation measure will show overall prices down 0.4 percent, after a 0.2 percent rise in October, while the so called "core-CPI," which excludes often volatile food and energy prices, should show a 0.2 percent rise, the same as October's gain.

Wednesday investors will see the report on the October trade deficit. Economists forecast it will fall to $62.8 billion from the record $66.1 billion level reached in September in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Oil prices were mixed ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET report on U.S. fuel inventories. The January light crude futures contract for NYMEX fell 1 cent to $61.36 a barrel in electronic trading, while the January contract for Brent crude was up 10 cents to $59.62.

The New York Times reported that a acquisition is in the works in the utility industry as FPL Group (Research) is in advanced talks to acquire the Constellation Energy Group (Research) for more than $11 billion.

Major markets in Asia closed mostly higher Wednesday following the Fed meeting, although Japan's Nikkei retreated from highs on as the yen gained on the dollar. Major European markets were mixed in early trading.

Treasury prices were higher, cutting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.49 percent from 4.52 percent late Tuesday. The dollar lost ground against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, Boeing (Research), which closed at an all-time high Tuesday, won a $10 billion order from Qantas Airlines, extending its lead this year in aircraft orders over rival Airbus Industrie. Shares of Dow component Boeing gained more than 1 percent in Frankfurt trading early Wednesday.

Medical device maker Guidant (Research), which is now subject of a bidding war between Johnson & Johnson (Research) and Boston Scientific (Research), could be in for more troubles. The New York Times reported that Food and Drug Administration records show the company has filed several new reports with regulators about recent patient deaths associated with short circuits in company heart devices.

For a more detailed look at the markets before the open, click here.