By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Tiffany, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and oil in focus

U.S. stock futures on Wednesday pointed to a higher open as oil tried for $50 a barrel, putting the Dow on track to extend the previous day's 213-point rally.

Investors are waiting for fresh readings on crude oil supplies and U.S. trade, with Federal Reserve speakers and disappointing releases from retailers Tiffany & Co.(TIF) and Express Inc.(EXPR) also getting attention.

S&P 500 futures gained 7.50 points, or 0.4%, to 2,082.50, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 63 points, or 0.4%, to 17,750. Nasdaq-100 futures tacked on 19.75 points, or 0.4%, to 4,465.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 closed 1.4% higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-rise-putting-dow-on-pace-to-recover-2016-05-24), while the Dow jumped by 1.2%, or 213.12 points, as a rally in financial and tech stocks underpinned a sharp and broad advance.

Analysts have been surprised by the gains.

"I really am trying to get my head around the newfound euphoria," said David Buik, market commentor for Panmure Gordon & Co. "Yes, I get the learning to live with a 25 basis point U.S. Fed rate hike in June or July ... but I wonder!"

Other markets: Oil futures traded higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude briefly rising as high as $49.45 a barrel, according to FactSet data. European stocks were advancing, while Asian markets mostly closed higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-boosted-by-strong-oil-prices-upbeat-us-data-2016-05-25). Gold futures were losing ground, and the ICE U.S. Dollar Index was little changed.

Read:Citi expects Brent crude to reach $50 a barrel in the third quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-age-for-oil-prompts-citi-to-raise-2017-forecast-to-65-2016-05-24)

Economic news: An April reading on advance trade in goods is slated to hit at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with economists polled by MarketWatch forecasting a deficit of $60 billion.

At 10:30 a.m. Eastern, a weekly report on petroleum inventories in the U.S. is due from the Energy Information Administration.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker is due to give a speech on the economy and monetary policy at 9 a.m. Eastern, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari has been expected to talk at 11:40 a.m. about the energy sector and monetary policy. At 1:30 p.m. Eastern, Dallas Fed President Steven Kaplan has been slated to take part in a moderated question-and-answer session. None of the speakers is currently a voting member of the Fed.

Individual movers: Shares in Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.(HPE) surged 12% in premarket action for the S&P 500's biggest gain. The company late Tuesday said it will spin off its enterprise services business and merge it (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hp-enterprise-to-spin-off-merge-services-business-2016-05-24-164855124) with Computer Sciences Corp.(CSC)

Read:Hewlett Packard Enterprise -- another day, another spinoff? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hewlett-packard-enterprise-another-day-another-spinoff-2016-05-24)

Microsoft Corp. shares (MSFT) traded 0.6% higher premarket after the tech giant early Wednesday said it will lay off 1,850 workers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-to-layoff-1850-from-smartphone-business-2016-05-25) from its ailing smartphone business.

Jewelry seller Tiffany fell 4.1% premarket after its quarterly revenue and outlook disappointed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tiffanys-stock-rocked-by-sales-miss-downbeat-outlook-2016-05-25), and clothing retailer Express tumbled 14% following its quarterly report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/express-cuts-outlook-after-revenue-flattens-2016-05-25). Tiffany was the S&P's biggest premarket loser.

Funds provider Eaton Vance Corp.(EV) was also among the companies expected to post earnings before the open.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 25, 2016 08:09 ET (12:09 GMT)