Stocks: Goldman, Greece, IMF in focus

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for a modestly higher open Wednesday, following reports that the International Monetary Fund may boost its bailout fund to contain Europe's debt crisis.

S&P 500 (SPX), Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were roughly 0.3% higher. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Early Wednesday, published reports indicated that the IMF was considering expanding its lending capacity by an additional $500 billion, on top of its current $385 billion.

The euro rose to $1.28 against the dollar following the reports.

"It's another step forward that credible safeguards are being established around Europe," said Jim Russell, regional investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management Group. "We do think stocks will respond positively today."

Investors also had the latest bank earnings report to mull over ahead of the opening bell. Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat forecasts, but missed on revenue. Goldman Sachs shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading.

On Tuesday, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) missed earnings estimates, while results from Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) were in line with expectations. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) are scheduled to release their results on Thursday.

"This is a big week for the financials," Russell said. "But the sector's recent market performance has more to do with possible and potential stability around Europe, rather than fourth quarter earnings releases."

The Greek debt dance heats up

Investors are also focused on the financial fate of Greece. Greek government officials and the group representing private sector investors and banks are resuming talks Wednesday to try to nail down how big a writedown private investors are willing to take on the country's bonds.

"We're looking for less of a food fight than we've seen in recent sessions," Russell said. "It's very apparent that there's an impasse at those meetings, and we do think it would be a step forward if at least a dialogue evolves."

U.S. stocks started the week higher Tuesday, as investors welcomed several signs of improving global economic growth.

World markets: European stocks were slightly mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) is flat, the DAX (DAX) in Germany rose 0.4% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) slumped 0.2%.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) fell 1.4%, while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong rose 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) increased 1%.

Companies: Late Tuesday, Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) announced that co-founder Jerry Yang has resigned from the board of directors and all other positions at the company. Yahoo shares rose 3.2% in premarket trading.

Shares of Carnival (CCL) rose 2.1% in premarket trading, after falling 14% the day before. The cruise line operator said it may suffer a more than $100 million hit to its profit from the grounding of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy.

Economy: Producer prices fell 0.1% in December, the government reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a rise of 0.1% during the month.

At 9:15 a.m. ET, the government will release its gauge on industrial production, which is expected to have increased 0.5% in December.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for February delivery rose $1.27 to $101.98 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery fell $1.70 to $1,653.90 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was flat, with the yield holding steady at 1.86%.