Premarket futures were indicating a slightly lower open Wednesday as investors geared up to hear more quarterly earnings reports following Tuesday's exuberant bull run.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 1.5 points at 1260 and were 2.5 points below fair value. Nasdaq futures were up 3 points at 1845 but were 5.5 points behind fair value.

In the previous day's trading, the three major indices each added more than 2% as crude oil dropped as low as $121.10 a barrel and Merrill Lynch (MER) managed to offload some mortgage-backed assets from its balance sheet.

Earnings season, meanwhile, remains in full swing. After the close Tuesday, video-game maker Electronic Arts' (ERTS) financial results fell short of estimates..

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Similarly, life insurance provider MetLife (MET) reported earnings that fell year over year and failed to meet analysts' expectations.

Before the new day's trading gets underway, cable operator Comcast (CMCSA) and glass producer Corning (GLW) will provide financial results.

Navigation-device maker Garmin (GRMN), ratings agency Moody's (MCO) and retailer Office Depot (ODP) are also on the schedule.

Elsewhere, the Securities and Exchange Commission extended until Aug. 12 its ban on naked short-selling of Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and brokerages.

Shifting over to commodities, crude oil was down 67 cents at $121.52. Gold was losing $9.20 at $917.20.

In economic data, investors will glean insight from Automatic Data Processing's July payroll report and crude-oil inventories for the week ended July 26.

Treasury prices were flat. The 10-year note was unchanged in price, yielding 4.04%, and the 30-year was up 1/32 to yield 4.62%. The dollar was gaining fractionally against the euro, but declining vs. the yen and the pound.

Most global exchanges, including London's FTSE, Frankfurt's DAX, Tokyo's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng, were gaining ground.

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