NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Strong earnings reports look to give stocks a lift in early trading Wednesday, but a stronger reading on inflation moved futures off their highs.

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a higher open for U.S. markets, after five Dow components -- the nation's No. 3 bank JP Morgan Chase (Research), drugmaker Pfizer (Research), soft drink maker Coca-Cola (Research) and diversified manufacturers Honeywell and United Technologies -- all reported improved results that topped forecasts before the market opened Wednesday.

Coke also raised its dividend while Pfizer reaffirmed its future earnings targets and announced it was raising its share repurchase plans. All five components were higher in pre-market trading on Inet following their reports.

The results Wednesday followed strong earnings after the bell Tuesday. Computer maker IBM (Research) reported better than expected results, and strong cell phone demand lifted results at chipmaker Texas Instruments (Research). While cell phone maker Motorola (Research) posted slightly reduced results, its shares rose on bullish guidance for the current period.

Internet firm Yahoo! (Research) came in with earnings and revenue roughly in line with estimates, but its shares also rallied in after-hours trading as it quieted fears that it would disappoint investors again this quarter.

In its latest inflation reading, the government said the core Consumer Price Index, the key measure of prices paid by consumers not including volatile food and energy, rose 0.3 percent in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a 0.2 percent rise after only a 0.1 percent gain the month before.

The overall CPI rose 0.4 percent, in line with forecasts.

The higher than expected core CPI number could reverse some of the positive momentum that gave stocks a large boost Tuesday afternoon, after the release of minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting suggested the U.S. central bank is getting close to the end of its course of interest rate hikes. A report showing modest CPI gains could feed Tuesday's rally further.

Then at 10:30 a.m. ET the Energy Department releases its weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories. Oil prices, which posted a record close for the second straight day Tuesday, were mixed in early trading ahead of the closely watched inventory report.

The May light crude futures contract for NYMEX slipped 29 cents to $71.06 a barrel in electronic trading, while the June contract for Brent crude edged 4 cents higher to $72.55.

Major markets in Asia closed higher Wednesday, building on the afternoon gains in the U.S. market and the strong tech results. Major European markets also were up in early trading.

Treasury prices continued the rally that started with the release of the Fed minutes Tuesday, cutting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.96 percent level from the 4.98 percent level reached late Tuesday. The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro in early trading.

In other earnings news, after the bell come reports from another raft of tech bellwethers, including No. 1 chipmaker Intel, computer maker Apple, and online auction site eBay, as well as the first report as a public company by the NYSE Group.

Apache (Research) will buy all of BP (Research) remaining oil and natural-gas fields on the Gulf of Mexico's continental shelf for $1.3 billion.

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