Stocks seen opening higher
Markets prepare to rise, in tandem with climbing commodities prices, ahead of corporate results.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to extend gains Wednesday as investors remained upbeat about the global economic recovery and braced for the start of third-quarter corporate results.
At 7:12 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were higher.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
This follows a rally on Tuesday, the second consecutive session of gains on Wall Street, as a weaker dollar boosted commodities and a broad range of stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index each gained 1.4% and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.7%. The weak dollar also drove the price of gold to a record high.
"We've seen a market that's pretty closely linked to the commodities market," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. "We've seen the dollar's weakness cause commodities to rally and that's dragged the [stock] markets up as well."
"I think it's important to note that all of this is happening in a vacuum of any real news," Hogan added, noting that this commodities-stock cause and effect is subject to change, especially by next week, when the news will be dominated by a wave of third-quarter results.
Earnings: The third-quarter corporate reporting period begins when aluminum maker Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500), a Dow component, reports after U.S. markets close Wednesday.
Companies: Stocks to watch include Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500), which cut the price of its Kindle e-book reader by $40 to $259.
World markets: Global stock indexes rallied. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.1% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rallied 2%. European shares were also higher in midday trading.
Money and oil: The dollar edged up against many of the major international currencies, including the euro, the yen and the pound. The price of oil climbed 40 cents to $71.28 a barrel. 
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