NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were poised to open in negative territory Tuesday following a sharp increase in wholesale prices, while investors awaited a reading on manufacturing activity and the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.
Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq-100 and S&P-500 futures were lower less than an hour before the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
Stocks booked gains Monday, with the three leading indexes finishing at new 14-month highs, after Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) said it will repay its government bailout funds and Dubai received $10 billion to cover its debt, easing worries that the emirate might default on billions it owes.
The weak dollar also helped, lifting commodity shares and the stocks of companies that do a lot of business overseas.
The greenback however enjoyed a nice rebound Tuesday. Concerns about fiscal policies in Greece were prompting some investors to seek shelter from the euro. The dollar was also higher against the yen.
"We're seeing a flight to quality with the dollar," said Dave Lutz, managing director equity trading for Stifel Nicolaus.
Federal Reserve: The latest central bank rate policy meeting gets under way Tuesday, concluding Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to hold the federal funds rate, a key overnight bank lending rate, steady at historic lows near zero. But investors are eager to see if the latest policy statement contains any new language that could offer any hints as to when the Fed will begin to raise interest rates.
Economy: Wholesale prices jumped last month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday, as the Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 1.8%.
Analysts were anticipating the reading to climb 0.8% in November.
So-called core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also came in higher than expected, climbing 0.5% after falling 0.6% in October.
The Federal Reserve will report on manufacturing activity just before the opening bell. November capacity utilization is expected to have risen to 71.1% from 70.7% in October. Industrial production is expected to have risen 0.5% after rising 0.1% in October.
Company news: Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) said Monday it has reached an agreement with the government to return $25 billion in bailout money it received during last year's financial crisis. The San Francisco-based bank said repayment of the funds is contingent on a $10.4 billion common stock offering.
The announcement came the same day that Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) said it would repay $20 billion in bailout funds, and the heads of major financial firms met with President Obama at the White House to discuss ways to increase lending.
Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) hopes to launch the first test flight of its new 787 Dreamliner in Seattle Tuesday. The plane, which boasts of greater fuel efficiency, has been beset by delays.
Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) delivered better-than-expected results before the opening bell. The electronics retailer said it earned profits of $227 million, or 53 cents a share. Analysts were widely expecting the company to report profits of 43 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.
Also on Tuesday, Dow component General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) holds its annual outlook meeting for investors.
World markets: Stocks in Asia ended lower, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index sliding 1.2%. European indexes were broadly lower in midday trading.
Other markets: Despite an uptick in the dollar, crude oil for January delivery gained 50 cents to $70.01 a barrel.
Commodity prices and the dollar tend to move in opposite directions.
Gold futures for February delivery eased $7.30 to $1,116 an ounce. 
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,454.83 | -74.92 | -0.60% |
| Nasdaq | 2,837.53 | -1.85 | -0.07% |
| S&P 500 | 1,317.82 | -2.86 | -0.22% |
| Treasuries | 1.74 | -0.01 | -0.80% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.15 | 0.01 | 0.14% |
| Sprint Nextel Corp | 2.62 | 0.09 | 3.56% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 16.33 | -0.06 | -0.37% |
| Chesapeake Energy Co... | 15.81 | 0.23 | 1.48% |
| Ford Motor Co | 10.60 | 0.01 | 0.09% |
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.80% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.09% | 3.11% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.65% | 2.69% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.77% | 3.86% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.09% | 3.21% |
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