Stock futures are indicating U.S. stock markets may start the day higher, continuing the recovery from yesterday's slide as concerns about the economy are replaced with focus on earnings and the strong showing from IBM, SAP and eBay.

Yesterday, subprime woes hit the market again following the admission by Bear Stearns that its two hedge funds backed by subprime mortgage securities were essentially worthless. Concerns about inflation Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke voiced on Capitol Hill caused more jitters.

Today, Bernanke is headed for another day of testimony in front of congress. In addition, at 2 p.m., the June 28 FOMC meeting minutes will be released and investors will sink their teeth in that.
Not much economic data will be released today:
At 8:30 a.m., weekly initial claims number is set to be released. At 10:00 a.m., June Leading Indicators is due and at noon, the Philadelphia Fed index will be reported.

As oil prices continue their climb and now stand above $75 a barrel following the unexpected decline in U.S. gasoline inventories, the US dollar remains near record low against the euro.

Overseas, China's economic growth accelerated to 11.9% in the most recent quarter, rapid even by Chinese standards. The question is whether authorities will move to rein in the economy.
Asian stocks traded mostly higher, as did European markets, rising for the first time in three days.

Corporate news:

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nestle and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) held merger talks earlier this year, but the due to a number of complications the talks ended and none appear to be happening now..

Earnings yesterday:

IBM (NYSE: IBM) shares are up 3.4% in premarket trading after the tech bellwether reported after the close yesterday, posting a 12% jump in quarterly earnings and improved its outlook for the rest of the year.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) announced a 50% surge in second quarter earnings. While eBay's strategy is working as apparent by the strong financial results, listings have declined in the quarter, unnerving investors. Shares are declining 1% in premarket trading (7:08 a.m.).

Earnings today:

This morning Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) reported results as did, Bank of New York (NYSE: BK) and Mellon Financial (NYSE: MEL) -- results.
SAP (NYSE: SAP) shares are up over 5.5% in premarket trading after the company reported that its second-quarter profit grew 8%.

After the close today, Microsoft Corp. (NYSE: MSFT) and Google Inc. (NYSE: GOOG) are set to report their quarterly results.

In major corporate news, PepsiCo (Charts, Fortune 500) and Swiss food giant Nestle explored merger talks earlier this year, although a number of complications got in the way of any deal, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.