Stocks were poised to rebound Wednesday, as investors monitor the U.S. economy and await President Obama's highly anticipated jobs speech.
On Thursday, the president is expected to propose new stimulus measures that include a jobs package worth billions of dollars, and an extension of the payroll tax cut.
Jobs are clearly on investors' minds, especially following last week's dismal government report that showed zero job growth in August -- stoking fears of another recession.
Economy: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will discuss the nation's economic outlook at an event in Minnesota.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said the number of Americans who filed applications for the week ended Sept. 2 fell 4.9%.
The Federal Reserve will release its September "Beige Book" at 18:00 GMT. The report offers a localized and anecdotal account of economic conditions in the United States.
Companies: Investors will be keeping an eye on Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500). On Tuesday, news broke that Carol Bartz was fired. Tim Morse, the company's chief financial officer, will take over as Yahoo's interim CEO. Shares of the company rose 5% in premarket trading.
Late Tuesday, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) announced plans to reshape its management team by letting go Joe Price, the president of consumer and small-business banking, and Sallie Krawcheck, president of wealth and investment management.
Bank of America shares rose 3% ahead of the opening bell.
Other financial stocks also moved higher in premarket trading, with shares of Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) rising 1.6%. JPMorgan (JPM, Fortune 500)'s stock gained nearly 2%.
After the close, homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) will release its corporate results.
World markets:

Oil for October delivery gained 78 cents to $86.80 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $27.20 to $1,846.10 an ounce.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury edged lower, with the yield rising to 2.02%.