STOCKS: ALL EYES ON BERNANKE

Click the chart for more market data. By CNNMoney.com staffApril 27, 2011: 6:55 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks were headed for early gains Wednesday, as investors sort through the latest corporate results ahead of a highly anticipated press conference at the Federal Reserve.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

U.S. stocks finished at their highest levels in three years Tuesday, as investors cheered another batch of solid earnings and a better-than-expected report on consumer confidence.

Economy: Investors will turn their attention to tight-lipped Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s first of what will become four regular press conferences a year.

In the past, Bernanke has rarely taken journalists’ questions publicly. The speech and question-and-answer session will follow the Fed’s two-day meeting on monetary policy.

Reports on durable orders are also out on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect an increase of 1.8% in March.

Companies: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) said it will buy Synthes, a Swiss maker of orthopedic devices, for $21.3 billion.

BP (BP) reported first-quarter earnings of $1.75 per U.S.-listed share, down from $1.79 per share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts were expecting $1.82 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500)’s stock fell 2% in premarket trading after the online merchant reported first-quarter earnings that fell by one-third compared to a year earlier and sharply missed Wall Street forecasts.

Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) is expected to report earnings of 70 cents a share later Wednesday.

After the close, Starbucks (SBUX, Fortune 500) reports results. The coffee retailer is expected to earn 34 cents a share.

World markets: European stocks higher in middauy trading. The DAX in Germany was up 0.7% and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.5%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was flat.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong both fell about 0.5%, while Japan’s Nikkei rallied 1.4%.

Standard & Poor’s warned that Japan’s government could face a downgrade of its credit rating within the next few years as the nation’s economy recovers from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

S&P lowered its outlook on Japan’s long-term debt to “negative” from “stable,” saying the government will likely bear most of the cost of rebuilding. The ongoing struggle to contain a damaged nuclear power plant in Japan makes the outlook even more uncertain, the agency said.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound, but rose versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for May delivery gained 44 cents to $112.66 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery rose $3.10 to $1506.70 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury held steady, with the yield unchanged from Tuesday at 3.32%.