NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Key economic readings and strong earnings reports from some tech bellwethers have stocks pointing higher before the market open Wednesday.

Stock futures, an indication of where stocks will trade in the early going, were up at 8:30 a.m. ET.

On Wednesday, JP Morgan Chase (Charts), the nation's No. 3 financial services company and a Dow component, continued the trend of strong earnings as it reported better-than-expected results.

After the bell Tuesday, No. 1 chipmaker Intel (Charts) reported lower earnings that nonetheless beat estimates, as the company said it is winning back lost market share. Computer maker IBM (Charts) also beat forecasts on improved earnings. IBM shares were upgraded by Goldman Sachs to a "buy" recommendation from neutral early Wednesday. Both Dow components were higher in Frankfurt trading early Wednesday.

Internet firm Yahoo (Charts) reported disappointing results, but shares gained in after-hours trading after its CEO told investors during a conference call that its long-awaited new search technology was now live. But analysts at Piper Jaffray downgraded the company's shares to "market perform" from "outperform" on Wednesday. Still, shares of Yahoo were up in Frankfurt on Wednesday.

But shares of cell phone maker Motorola fell in Frankfurt trading after posting disappointing results.

Computer maker Apple Computer (Charts) is due to report results after the bell Wednesday, with analysts looking for a one-third increase in earnings.

The Consumer Price Index, the government's key inflation reading, fell by an unexpectedly steep 0.5 percent in September, the Labor Department said, although so-called core prices kept edging up enough to keep inflation a concern.

The CPI report, which measures prices on the retail level, follows yesterday's Producer Price Index, which measures price pressures on the wholesale level. The PP report showed a gain that was much bigger than expected, if energy and food prices are excluded. The PP report was cited by analysts as one reason stocks sold off Tuesday, leaving the Dow about 50 points away from hitting the 12,000 mark for the first time.

Economists surveyed by Briefing. com forecast that the overall CPI would fall 0.3 percent in September on lower energy prices, after a 0.2 percent rise in August. The so-called core CPI, which strips out food and energy, was expected to be up 0.2 percent.

The pace of home building unexpectedly strengthened in September as new housing starts rose 5.9 percent, but new building permits fell more than expected to a near five-year low, the Commerce Department said.

Housing starts were forecast to slip to an annual rate of 1.65 million in September, from 1.67 million, while new permits slowed to a 1.72 million pace from 1.73 million.

The National Association of Home Builders on Tuesday reported its member survey in October showed the first slight increase in confidence in a year, although those who see conditions as poor outnumbered those who saw them as good by four to one.

Treasury prices were little changed after the economic reports, leaving the yield on the 10-year note near the 4.77 percent level reached late Tuesday. The dollar was down against the yen and little changed against the euro.

Oil prices were slightly lower ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET report on U.S. fuel inventories. U.S. light crude was down 25 cents to $58.68 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude trading in London was 59 cents lower at $60.36.

Stocks in Asia closed mostly higher Wednesday, while stocks in Europe were up in early trading.

In other corporate news, General Motors (Charts) has retained two top investment banking firms, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to help prepare for a potential proxy fight or other hostile action led by Kirk Heroin, its largest individual shareholder, who has been critical of the company.