Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk
The Dow and the S&P 500 are coming off three losing days in four sessions, with the Fed's tepid outlook adding to the list of investors' economic concerns.
The Dow is the only one of the major averages higher for 2011 at this point, trying for its first three-year winning streak since 1997-1999.
The government's economic calendar is light today, with only the monthly report on import prices out before the opening bell.
That report - due out at 8:30am ET - is expected to show import prices up 1.1 percent in November, following a 0.6 percent decline in October.
We'll also get the weekly reading on mortgage applications from the Mortgage Bankers Association at 7am ET, and the weekly look at oil and gasoline inventories from the Energy Department at 10:30am ET.
The Treasury Department will sell $13 billion in 30-year bonds today, with the results available shortly after 1pm ET. That follows strong demand in its 3-year and 10-year note auctions Monday and Tuesday.
In other stat-related news, the National Association of Realtors is planning to downwardly revise its data on existing home sales from 2007 through October of this year, after it discovered that some home sales had been double counted. The final revisions will be issued next Wednesday.
The earnings calendar only has a handful of companies on today's list, with Joy Global (JOYG) the largest of those scheduled to be issued before the opening bell.
Express Scripts (ESRX) is a stock to watch today, on news that it's involved in a pharmacy benefit contract dispute with Wellpoint (WLP).
The stock was down 4% after hours, although Express Scripts does not expect any resolution to have a material effect on the company's financial condition.
We'll watch shares of Avon Products (AVP), after the company announced it would separate the chairman and CEO roles, and move CEO Andrea Jung to the chairman's slot.
We'll also watch shares of retailers today, with ShopperTrak reporting that the week ending December 10 saw a 1.9% drop in retail sales compared to the same week a year earlier.
In the news: the House has passed its version of a payroll tax cut extension, but the bill is considered to have no chance in the Senate.
Also up in the air: a deal to avert a government shutdown, with complications arising after the two parties had struck a tentative deal to fund the government through the end of 2012.
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