Stocks were poised to open modestly higher Wednesday as uneasy investors sought to buy back into a market battered a day earlier by recession worries.Better-than-expected profit results from Walt Disney Co. seemed to lift Wall Street's mood. Disney posted a 26 percent decline in profit late Tuesday, but the results beat expectations. The company — one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones industrials — reported a 9 percent rise in revenue, thanks in part to the success of brands such as ESPN, "High School Musical" and "Hanna Montana."
Stocks plummeted Tuesday, sending the Dow down 370 points after the Institute for Supply Management reported a surprising January contraction in the U.S. service sector — news that bolstered the argument that the nation is in recession. The Dow's nearly 3 percent drop was the widest percentage drop since Feb. 27, 2007.
Government data on fourth-quarter productivity is scheduled to arrive at 8:30 a.m. EST, and could calm economic jitters somewhat if results come in as expected — showing productivity rising and costs declining. But it's possible investors will remain fairly anxious regardless, particularly after Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said in a speech Tuesday that while the risk of recession has increased, weak growth is more likely and that additional interest rate cuts might not be warranted.
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