Stock futures strengthen on GDP

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks futures turned positive Wednesday after the latest reading on the U.S. economy came in slightly better than expected, while investors awaited a rate decision from the Federal Reserve and digested a host of negative corporate earnings announcements.

Less than a half hour before the start of trading, Nasdaq and S&P futures were positive, suggesting a higher start for Wall Street.

Gross domestic product, the broad measure of the nation's economic activity, rose at an annual rate of 0.6% during the first three months of the year, continuing the same sluggish pace as in the previous quarter. The reading, however, narrowly topped expectations.

But much of Wall Street's focus was centered on the Fed's rate announcement. The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by a quarter percentage point when it releases its policy statement at 2:15 p.m. ET. It would mark the seventh straight rate cut by the central bank, which has slashed rates by 3 percentage points since September. But many will scrutinize the Fed's statement to see if the central bank plans to keep rates steady after that cut.

Corporate earnings continued to pour in Wednesday as General Motors Corp. (GM, Fortune 500) reported a $3.3 billion first-quarter loss. But excluding special items, its loss was smaller than forecasts, and GM shares jumped nearly 3% in early pre-market trading after the report.

Time Warner (TWX, Fortune 500) reported lower quarterly earnings that narrowly missed estimates, as the company said it planned to spin off its cable unit. Time Warner, the parent company of CNNMoney.com, saw shares edge higher in pre-market trading on news of the cable spinoff.

And telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) reported a net loss for the first quarter and warned that it expects sales to fall this year.

Procter & Gamble (PG, Fortune 500) bucked the trend by reporting higher quarterly profits. The consumer products maker relied on cost control and price increases to help offset higher commodity costs and edge past forecasts. It also lifted the lower end of its quarterly profit guidance.

On the corporate front, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) is expected to make the next move in its takeover fight for Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) as early as Wednesday, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said the software giant is considering nominating a proxy slate of directors to replace Yahoo's board.

Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) announced plans late Tuesday to raise $3 billion via a common stock offering, as part of an effort to insulate its balance sheet.

And the coffeehouse giant Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) plans to roll out two new drink lines when it announces its quarterly results Wednesday, as part of an effort to drum up new business, according to the Journal.

Dow component AT&T (T, Fortune 500) will cut the price of the new 3G version of the Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPhone by as much as $200 when it is introduced this summer, Fortune.com reported Wednesday.

Oil prices steadied ahead of a weekly report on fuel inventories, which is slated for release at 10:30 a.m. ET. U.S. light, sweet crude for June gained 58 cents to $116.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In global trade, Japan stocks ended the session slightly lower. European shares moved higher in early afternoon trading.

The dollar eased slightly against both the yen and the euro.