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Stocks face mixed open

After a winning streak for the market, investors waiting for reports on trade and oil inventories.

July 13, 2005: 6:13 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks were looking for direction early Wednesday ahead of government reports that could affect the value of the dollar and oil prices.

U.S. stock futures were mixed in early trading, with Standard & Poor's 500 futures pointing to a slightly higher open and Nasdaq futures pointing lower ahead of some tech earnings due after the bell.

Before the market opens though will come a report on the U.S. trade gap. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that exports fell $57.0 billion short of imports in May, the same gap as reported in April.

If the trade gap is wider than expected, it could put downward pressure on the dollar, which has rallied in recent months. The dollar was up against the euro and the yen in early trading ahead of the report.

Oil prices were higher as traders watched Tropical Storm Emily moved across the Atlantic. Tuesday it was discovered that one of the largest oil platforms in the Gulf was apparently damaged by Hurricane Dennis, which was initially believed to have caused little damage to oil production when it came through over the weekend.

That and concerns about Emily helped drive oil prices higher Tuesday, which ended a three-day rally for the Dow, although the S&P and Nasdaq still posted gains.

At 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday traders will see a report on U.S. fuel inventories, which could send oil prices higher still.

The August light crude contract gained 16 cents to $60.78 a barrel in electronic trading, while the August contract for Brent crude rose 16 cents to $58.98.

Major markets in Asia closed mostly higher, although Japan's Nikkei lost ground on higher oil prices. Major European markets were also higher in early trading.

Bond prices were lower, leaving the yield on the 10-year treasury to 4.16 percent from the 4.14 percent level late Tuesday.

In corporate news, Apple Computer (Research) and chipmaker Advance Micro Devices (Research) are set to report results after the market closes Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call forecast a loss at AMD but improved results at Apple.

Boston Scientific (Research) could be hurt by a report in the Wall Street Journal that three people died and dozens more were injured during operations performed after the recall of its cardiac stent last year.