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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to nudge higher Wednesday, though trading is likely to remain quiet during the holiday week, as investors close their books for the year.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were up about slightly ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.
Trading volume has been light and markets have barely moved during the final week of the year, as the Northeast continues to recover from severe winter weather and as investors hold off making their next big bets till the new year.
On Tuesday, stocks ended the day mixed as investors mulled a disappointing report on consumer confidence, and ongoing weakness in the housing market.
Overall stocks have climbed 6% in December, and are on track to post double-digit gains for the year.
Companies: Shares of SAP (SAP) slipped 0.2% in premarket trading, after a district judge ruled that the German-based business software maker will have to pay rival Oracle millions of dollars in interest on the $1.3 billion copyright infringement verdict. Shares of Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500) were little changed.
Bank of America's (BAC, Fortune 500) stock rose 0.2% in premarket trading, after Allstate Corp. (ALL, Fortune 500) filed a lawsuit against the bank and its Countrywide Financial unit for more than $700 million in mortgage-backed securities that the insurance giant had purchased. The suit also named former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, who agreed to pay $67.5 million in fraud charges in October.
Economy: The U.S. government's weekly crude oil inventories report is due in the morning, though it is typically not a market mover.
World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, while the DAX in Germany ticked up 0.3% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.9%.
Asian markets ended the session higher. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rallied 1.5% and Japan's Nikkei ticked up 0.5%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar was flat against the euro and the British pound, and fell versus the Japanese yen.
Oil for February delivery slipped 49 cents to $91.00 a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery shed 30 cents to $1,405.30 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to to 3.47% from 3.48% late Tuesday. 
| 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% |
Today's featured rates:
| 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% |
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