EW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were set to open higher Wednesday, after rising the past three sessions, with investors awaiting a report on the U.S. trade balance.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were slightly higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.
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U.S. stocks rose for the third straight day Tuesday, as investors were encouraged by Microsoft's $8.5 billion deal to buy Skype, along with solid corporate earnings reports and economic data.
Even though indexes have been moving higher this week, recent moves indicate that investors may be becoming more careful. Utilities and health care stocks, two defensive sectors, were among the top performers Tuesday.
Experts say the sector gains are a signal that investors are getting cautious, and the market may level off or turn lower.
Economy: At 8:30 a.m. ET, a report on the U.S. trade balance for March is due. Economists expect that the U.S. economy had a $47.7 billion trade deficit, wider than the $45.8 billion deficit reported in February.
Companies: Automaker Toyota said Tuesday that while net income almost doubled and sales increased 0.2% for the fiscal year ended March 31, the earthquake that hit Japan earlier this year cost the company about ¥100 billion.
Also, insurer American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500) and the Treasury decided to move ahead with a $9 billion stock offering, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, despite the recent low price of the stock.
Before the opening bell, department store chain Macy's (M, Fortune 500) reports quarterly earnings. Analysts expect earnings of 18 cents a share.
Dow component Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) is slated to issue its results after the closing bell. Analysts expect that the communications equipment maker earned 37 cents a share.
World markets: European stocks were higher in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.1%, the DAX in Germany rose 0.8% and France's CAC 40 adding 0.5%.
In Asia, China's food price surge slowed, helping to ease overall inflation in April. China's National Bureau of Statistics reported Wednesday that the consumer price index rose at an annual rate of 5.3% in April, down from 5.4% growth in March.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.3%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shaved 0.2% and Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar slid against the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.
Oil for June delivery slipped 86 cents to $103.02 a barrel.
Meanwhile, gas prices resumed their climb toward $4 a gallon after four straight days of declines. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline increased 1.1 cents to $3.962, according to AAA.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $6.10 to $1,523 an ounce.
Silver futures for July delivery rose 66 cents to $39.15.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was little changed with the yield at 3.23%.
