MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures stuck to a tight range on Wednesday, hinting at another low-volume day, with the data calendar thin and the influential dollar locked in ranges. Deal news from Kraft Foods Group Inc. and Kofax Ltd. drove those shares higher. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ESM5, -0.07% rose 1 point to 17,949, while those for the S&P 500 index YMM5, -0.15% inched up 535 point to 2,086.75. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 NQM5, +0.06% were up 6 points to 4,435. The week so far has produced losses of just over 0.5% for the major indexes. Tuesday marked a second straight decline for stocks, after consumer prices and other data suggested to some that a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike could come sooner rather than later. The Dow industrials DJIA, -0.58% dropped 104.90 points, and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.61% fell 12.92 points. NYSE Composite volume was the fourth lowest this year. Analysts at Credit Suisse said Tuesday’s volumes were 2% below Monday’s dismal level. With little data out Wednesday, volumes would probably drop off once a report on oil inventory data is released, they said. A reading on durable-goods orders for February are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will give a speech in London speech on monetary policy and the economy at 6:30 a.m. Eastern. Sleeping giant: Tuesday’s CPI data did help the dollar to stabilize, which in turn weighed on stocks. Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG, said many are waiting to see how long the dollar can “remain at bay before resuming its run.�

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