U.S. Stocks Staging Mixed Opening

Premarket futures indicate U.S. stocks were looking to stage a mixed open Wednesday, as the automakers attempted to secure their future by asking Congress for financial assistance, and several industrial heavyweights searched for answers in a troubled economic environment.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 9.4 points at 857 and were 1 point below fair value. Nasdaq futures were lower by 16 points at 1158 and were 1.3 ahead of fair value.

Last time out, the major averages suffered through a whipsaw session to close with gains, as strong earnings from tech bellwether Hewlett-Packard (HPQ Quote) helped traders look past ongoing troubles for financial firms and automakers.

Companies were still trying to adjust to the economic downturn and salve wounds inflicted by the faltering economy.

After arriving hat in hand on Capitol Hill Tuesday to plead their case for access to federal funding, chief executives of woebegone automakers General Motors (GM Quote), Ford (F Quote) and Chrysler will attempt again Wednesday to exchange a grilling by members of Congress for billions of dollars in government aid. The Big Three have been walloped lately by a combination of flagging sales, troubles in their finance divisions and high labor costs.

Dow Jones Industrial Average component Boeing (BA Quote) is resetting its production schedule as it attempts to recover from a strike by its machinists' union, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, industrial conglomerate and fellow Dow component General Electric (GE Quote) said it would reorganize its GE Capital finance branch to cut costs.

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