Stocks set to start lower

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a weak start Wednesday as economic woes hung over investors.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were narrowly lower ahead of the opening bell after seesawing throughout the morning.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Wall Street had a bumpy Tuesday, erasing earlier gains to end the session mixed after a drop in consumer confidence offset better-than-expected corporate earnings.

"Yesterday was indicative of the summer doldrums," said Mark Luschini, a chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "News on the economic front was soft, and we had pretty good earnings news, but none of this really pushed markets one way or the other."

"I don't expect much coming in the way of fireworks unless some company comes out and reports something unexpected or we get some economic data that investors really bite into, good or bad," he added.

Economy: A report from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that durable goods orders, or goods meant to last three years or more, slipped 1% in June, after falling 0.8% in May. Economists had expected orders to have risen 1% in June, according to a consensus estimate from Briefing.com.

Investors will also be eyeing the Federal Reserve's "beige book," a reading on the nation's 12 economic district, which is due at 2 p.m.

Earnings: Sprint Nextel (S, Fortune 500) shares jumped 9% in pre-market trading after the company posted its first rise in subscribers in three years and a second-quarter loss that beat expectations.

Shares of CVS Caremark (CVS, Fortune 500) slipped 5% after the company said second-quarter net income fell from a year earlier and announced a 12-year deal with health insurer Aetna Inc.

Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) posted a quarterly profit that topped estimates, but was down from a year earlier. Shares of the company edged lower by less than 1% before the market open.

World markets: European shares got off to a mixed start. In the early going, the CAC 40 in France rose 0.3%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.4% and Germany's DAX lost 0.3%.

Asian markets rallied. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index soared 2.7% and the Shanghai Composite climbed 2.3%.The Hang Seng index also finished the session with gains.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar was up versus the euro and the British pound, but down against the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for September delivery edged down 42 cents to $77.08 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract gained $2.90 to $1,160.90 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, and the yield on the 10-year note edged down to 3.02% from 3.05% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

How much of a hit did you take in the recent correction? Are you worried about a bear market? What changes have you made in your portfolio and what changes do you plan on making for the rest of the year? E-mail your story to realstories@cnnmoney.com and you could be featured in an upcoming article. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here.