Tech stocks set to surge
Intel's bright second-half outlook could give a big lift to Nasdaq at the open.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Technology stocks were expected to lift the overall market at Wednesday's open after Intel topped analysts' expectations for the prior quarter and gave a positive second-half outlook.
At 8:45 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 were higher.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance.
Stocks ended modestly higher Tuesday after Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings but investors remained uncertain about the pace of the economic recovery. Goldman Sachs posted profit of $3.44 billion, or $4.93 a share for the second quarter, beating the most bullish of expectations.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co., said futures were being driven by strong Intel earnings and rising oil prices.
"Any modicum of inflation will be seen as a good thing," said Hogan, before the consumer price index came out and showed an uptick in inflation. "We need to grow out of this economic slowdown we're in. You want to see a reflation of the economy."
Economic reports: The CPI rose 0.7% in June, the government said, slightly higher than the 0.6% gain expected by a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
This is compared to May, when the CPI edged up 0.1%.
Excluding food and energy prices, the so-called core CPI rose 0.2%, compared to the 0.1% expected by Briefing.com consensus. This is compared to May, when the core CPI edged up 0.1%.
Other reports expected before the open are the federal government's report on industrial production and capacity utilization.
Later in the day, the minutes from the last Federal Reserve policy meeting are due.
Intel: After the market close Tuesday, tech bellwether Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) reported second-quarter profit and revenue that both fell from a year ago but beat Wall Street estimates.
In addition, the chipmaker said it expects to see revenue growth in the second half of the year, aided in large part by a rally in personal computer sales.
Global markets: Asian stocks ended higher Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index scratching out a 0.1% gain. European markets rose more than 1% in midday trading.
Oil and money: The price of oil rallied 87 cents to $60.39 a barrel ahead of the weekly government inventory report. The dollar slipped versus major international currencies, including the yen, the euro and British pound. 
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