U.S. Futures Point to Higher Open

NEW YORK—U.S. stock futures crept higher, as a successful auction of Italian debt gave investors something positive to trade on in an otherwise quiet session for news.

About 90 minutes before the opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had tacked on 22 points, or 0.2%, to 12241. The Dow slipped 3 points on Tuesday, the first decline in five sessions, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index and Nasdaq Composite eked out gains.

Wednesday, S&P 500 futures gained 3 points, or 0.2%, to 1263 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2290. Changes in stock futures don’t always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

NYSE Composite volume of 2.03 billion shares on Tuesday was the second-lowest of the year. Activity is expected to remain light during the holiday-shortened week.

Bloomberg News The Dow slipped 3 points on Tuesday.

European markets reversed earlier losses to trade broadly higher as a successful auction of Italian Treasury bills helped lift investor spirits. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.5%, after being down 0.5% at its intraday low.

Demand for Italian six-month bills increased from the previous auction, and the average yield of 3.251% was half of the 6.504% average, a euro-era high, paid a month earlier for the same maturity.

Stocks had declined earlier as the use of the European Central bank’s overnight deposit facility reached a second-straight record raised worries that banks would rather park cash there rather than lend it to other banks.

Asian bourses were mostly lower. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average slipping 0.2%, but China’s Shanghai Composite edged up 0.2% to halt a three-session slide that taken the index to the lowest close since March 2009.

Gold futures shed 0.5% to $1,587.20 an ounce, while crude oil futures lost 0.6% to $100.78 a barrel. The U.S. dollar eased slightly against the euro and the yen.

The economic calendar is light, with the Johnson Redbook retail sales index for the holiday shopping period scheduled for release at 8:55 a.m. EST.

In corporate news, shares of Cavium slumped 6% in premarket trading after the semiconductor products maker lowered its revenue and gross margin outlook for the fourth quarter.

New York Times said it agreed to sell the 16 local newspapers that comprise its regional media group for $143 million in cash to Halifax Media Holdings. The stock was still inactive ahead of the open.

Medicis Pharmaceutical raised its earnings outlook for the fourth quarter late Tuesday, but lowered its revenue estimate, citing progress made in reducing the its exposure to certain managed care restrictions. The stock was still inactive in the premarket, but had declined nearly 4% in Tuesday’s after-hours session.

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