U.S. stocks looked to open little changed on Wednesday after staging a late rally in the previous session, with investors focused on key economic and oil data as crude drifts near $50 a barrel. Tuesday's rally was helped by heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. raising its sales forecast, a day after a spike in oil prices led to a broad market sell-off. Shares of online travel site Orbitz Inc. will be in the spotlight after surging a day earlier following news that travel and real estate heavyweight Cendant Corp. is nearing a deal to buy the company. Orbitz soared $5.48, or 26.4 percent, to $26.25 in pre-market trade. S&P 500 futures inched down 0.20 point, slightly below fair value accounting for interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.
Dow Jones industrial index futures were down 5 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.50 point. The Commerce Department releases its final estimate of second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT), which economists believe will rise from the previous period. "I think people are waiting on the GDP figures. Nobody wants to be surprised," said Edgar Peters, chief investment officer & director of asset allocation at PanAgora Asset Management Inc. "After yesterday's bounce, we may see some initial profit taking and then a little bit of a rise, unless GDP is lower than expected," Peters said. The positive news from Caterpillar may be offset by oil prices pushing above $50 a barrel, Peters added. U.S. light crude surged to a record high of $50.47 a barrel on Tuesday but was down 28 cents in electronic trading to $49.62 a barrel on Wednesday. Fears over stretched global supplies were heightened this week when rebels seeking autonomy in Nigeria said they would declare war in the oil-rich Niger delta, home to most of the country's 2.3 million barrels per day output. Data issued by the Energy Information Administration at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) is expected to show a fall in U.S. crude stocks for the ninth straight week after stormy weather slowed a recovery in output and shipments in the Gulf of Mexico following disruptions from Hurricane Ivan. Investors fear higher oil prices will pinch profit margins of fuel guzzlers such as airlines and of manufacturers who use crude as a raw material, as well as curb consumer spending. Shares of Computer Associates will be watched after the company said it would cut its work force by 800 jobs, or 5 percent, to pare costs amid stiff competition. In other corporate news, Disney President Robert Iger said a new deal between the media conglomerate and Pixar Animation Studios was "unlikely" and that it had been approached to buy UK media assets. Archstone-Smith Trust , an apartment owner and operator, may be active after it raised its full-year earnings estimate and forecast third-quarter earnings that top analysts' estimates, citing gains from condominium sales and from improved operating performance.///