Cisco Systems' rosy outlook drove tech futures higher ahead of Wednesday's trading session. Stocks posted modest gains Tuesday after the Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at 5.25%. The Dow climbed 35.52 to finish the day at 13,504.30.Companies reporting earnings Wednesday include Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), News Corp (NYSE: NWS) and AIG (NYSE: AIG).
Also due out Wednesday, the Commerce Department's June figures on wholesale trade and the DOE's weekly crude inventories report.
The Nikkei climbed back over 17,000 Wednesday, while London's FTSE 100 sat 0.8% higher at midday.
Corporate news
Shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) rallied overseas following its fourth-quarter earnings report, released after Tuesday's U.S. market close. The networking bellwether reported a 25 percent jump in profits, citing strong sales due to evolving demand for bandwidth-hogging multimedia content on the web.
In contrast, luxury-home builder Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL)'s dismal third-quarter report showed a 21% drop in revenue last quarter and outlined a bleak forecast: fewer contracts and a 34% decrease in backlog from last year's third quarter.
Russian business daily Vedomosti is reporting that billionaire Oleg Deripaska has taken a sizable stake in General Motors (NYSE: GM).
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