U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a higher opening this morning, giving the Dow a chance to extend its record avoidance of 3-day losing streaks. Never before has the industrial average gone this far into a year without falling three straight sessions, although it's also not risen for as many as three sessions since April 30.
It's another light day for government economic reports, with the May federal budget statement the lone release on the calendar. Those numbers will be out at 2 p.m. ET.
Other notable releases on the calendar for today include the usual Wednesday snapshot of mortgage applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association at 7 a.m. ET, and the weekly assessment of oil and gasoline inventories from the Energy Department at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Treasury will sell $21 billion in 10-year notes, with the results of that auction available shortly after 1 p.m. ET.
There are no earnings releases of note this morning, while after-the-bell reports include the latest quarterly numbers from H&R Block (HRB), Men's Wearhouse (MW), and PVH Corp. (PVH), the clothing maker formerly known as Phillips-Van Heusen.
Vodafone (VOD) is among our stocks to watch this morning, after saying it's approached Germany's Kabel Deutschland about a possible takeover of that company. The potential transaction could also move shares of Verizon (VZ), which has said it would like to buy Vodafone's 45 percent stake in the Verizon Wireless unit.
Rambus (RMBS) has settled a patent case with South Korea's SK Hynix, which will pay its rival chipmaker $240 million. The dispute over memory chip technology dates back 13 years, but Rambus CEO Ron Black has been accelerating efforts to settle such cases, including a high profile dispute with Micron Technology (MU).
Yum Brands (YUM) reports a 19 percent drop in China same-store sales in May, in line with expectations. China is responsible for about half the sales for Yum, the parent of the KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut restaurant chains.
First Solar (FSLR) announced a secondary offering of 8.5 million shares, with plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
Prudential Financial (PRU) announced a $1 billion stock buyback program, adding to a $1 billion program announced a year ago. Prudential has repurchased about $150 million in shares under that prior program.
Herbalife (HLF) said an online survey shows its products are used by about eight million customers in the U.S., as it counters investor Bill Ackman's charges that Herbalife is nothing more than a pyramid scheme.
Toyota (TM) North America CEO Jim Lentz told reporters in Japan that the automaker is unlikely to regain the 17 percent U.S. market share it achieved in 2009, although he does see 14-17 percent as a realistic range.
Proxy advisory firm ISS is recommending Sprint (S) shareholders vote to approve an improved takeover offer from Japan's SoftBank. That bid was raised to $21.6 billion Tuesday from the prior $20.1 billion.