By Ellis Mnyandu
Investors were also poised to scour the market for down-trodden shares a day after mounting fears of a recession sent Wall Street and markets in Europe tumbling. Asia also slid overnight.
"Beyond financials, earnings seem to be pretty good."
Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 26 points. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.5 points.
The news of the bid would put shares of metals and mining
companies, including Alcoa Inc
Time Warner Inc said it expects profit growth to slow in 2008 but possibly exceed Wall Street's estimates. It reported quarterly earnings that reflected increases in broadband and phone subscribers and sales of "Harry Potter" home videos.
On Wednesday's economic agenda, preliminary government data on fourth-quarter productivity is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. EST. Productivity is forecast to rise on average 0.4 percent versus a 6.3 percent increase in the third quarter, according to economists polled by Reuters.
The Dow and S&P 500 had their biggest drops since February 27, 2007. All 30 Dow stocks fell and only 17 of the 500 components on the S&P closed higher.
