NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to move higher at Wednesday's open after JPMorgan Chase and Intel reported strong first-quarter results and investors awaited a batch of economic data.
Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were mildly higher.
The blue-chip Dow and Nasdaq touched fresh 18-month highs Tuesday, but gains were slight as investors mulled the recent stock advance which has pushed the Dow past 11,000.
Earnings: JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) reported a $3.3 billion profit for the first quarter, though the bank continued to suffer losses in its consumer loan portfolio.
The New York City-based bank said it earned 74 cents a share during the quarter, up 55% from a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting earnings of 64 cents a share.
Shares of JPMorgan rose nearly 2% in premarket trading.
JPMorgan kicks off the reporting period for big banks, most of which are expected to post a profitable quarter.
After U.S. markets closed Tuesday, chipmaker Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) reported results that topped Wall Street's estimates. Shares were up almost 5% before the opening bell.
Economy: The government's monthly retail sales report and a report on consumer inflation are both due out at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Retail sales are expected to have risen 1.2% in March after growing 0.3% in February, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. Sales excluding autos are expected to have risen 0.5% after rising 0.8% in February.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of consumer inflation, is expected to have risen 0.1% in March versus a flat reading in February. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have risen 0.1% after moving up 0.1% in February.
A reading on business inventories is due after U.S. markets open. Inventories are forecast to have risen 0.4% in February compared with a flat reading in January.
In the afternoon, the Federal Reserve releases its Beige Book of economic conditions.
World markets: Stocks in Europe headed higher. Britain's FTSE 100, France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX were all in positive territory in morning trading.
Asian markets finished the session with gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged higher, and the Nikkei in Japan added 0.4%.
Currencies and commodities: Trading in the currency market was mixed. The dollar was unchanged versus the euro, but fell against the pound. It rose against the yen.
The price of oil was up 73 cents to $84.78 a barrel. The government's weekly report on U.S. crude oil inventories comes out later Wednesday.
Gold rose $5.60 to $1,159 an ounce.
Bonds: Prices for U.S. Treasurys fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 3.81%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
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