06:59 AM EDT, 05/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were trending marginally higher in Wednesday's premarket activity as investors take positions ahead of the release of a key inflation report.

The S&P 500 futures and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were slightly in the green each, while the Nasdaq remained nearly flat before the opening bell. The majority of Asian exchanges were heading north, while European bourses were pointing upwards.

The consumer price inflation report for April is scheduled for 8:30 am ET. On Tuesday, government data showed that producer prices rebounded above market expectations on a sequential basis last month, while wholesale costs logged the highest annual increase in a year.

Also on the economic calendar, the weekly mortgage applications bulletin posts at 7 am, followed by the retail sales report and the New York Federal Reserve's Empire State Manufacturing Index, both for April, at 8:30 am. The business inventories report for March is out at 10 am, along with the housing market index for the current month.

The weekly EIA domestic oil inventories report is due at 10:30 am. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is set to speak at 12 pm, while Fed Governor Michelle Bowman speaks at 3:20 pm.

Nextracker's ( NXT ) shares jumped 14% pre-bell after the company topped market expectations for its fiscal fourth-quarter results. Petco Health & Wellness (WOOF) gained nearly 2% as the pet store chain appointed former Gap (GPS) and Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) executive Glenn Murphy as executive chairman of its board.

Dynatrace ( DT ) , Sportradar Group ( SRAD ) , Monday.com ( MNDY ) , MakeMyTrip ( MMYT ) and Dole (DOLE) report their latest financial results early Wednesday, among others. Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) and Grab (GRAB) post earnings in the afterhours.

In premarket action, bitcoin advanced 1.9% to $62,747, West Texas Intermediate crude ticked up 0.1% to $78.09 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries declined 2.5 basis points to 4.42% and gold rose 0.7% to $2,376 an ounce.