Morning Market Roundup: Mixed Emotions

Here’s what’s shaking:

Stocks:

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Global stocks remain steady on Wednesday as corporate earnings reports sent mixed signals about the economy and trading in currency markets remained volatile.

By midday in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was flat at 6,333.76 while Germany's DAX was up 0.4 percent to 7,689.87. France's CAC-40 was also unchanged at 3,685.1.

Wall Street appeared headed for a higher open, with futures in both the Dow and the broader S&P 500 rising 0.1 percent. On Tuesday, the Dow closed at its highest level since late 2007, just 150 points off its record of 14,164.53.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei index tumbled as the yen strengthened against the dollar following a pledge by finance ministers from the world's seven major advanced economies to refrain from intentionally weakening their currencies. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1 percent to close at 11,251.41.

Oil:

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The price of oil moved up closer to $98 a barrel Wednesday, spurred on by a report indicating a fall in U.S. crude stockpiles.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for March delivery was up 33 cents to $97.84 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, it rose 48 cents.

A report late Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute showed a drop of 2.3 million barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles last week. If confirmed by data from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration to be released later Wednesday, it would be the first fall in crude supplies in over a month.

Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, was down 1 cent to $118.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Markets:

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.