Stock futures edge up; all eyes on retail sales

MADRID (MarketWatch) � U.S. stock-market futures edged up on Wednesday, with all eyes on retail-sales data that are expected to show how much a payroll-tax hike has hit consumer spending. Import-price data and a speech from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard are also on tap.

Within corporate news, Deere & Co. is among companies who reported ahead of the bell.

Building on earlier gains, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH3 �rose 20 points to 13,993, while those for the Standard & Poor�s 500 index SPH3 �rose 2.2 points to 1,518.40.

Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NDH3 �rose 6 points to 2,766.75.

Click to Play Highlights from Barack Obama's State of the Union

Watch some of the highlights from President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. Photo: Getty Images.

Economists polled by MarketWatch are estimating that retail sales were flat in January, versus a rise of 0.5% in December. It�s the first report to be released since taxes for millions of Americans rose. Markets are expected to be sensitive to any number that veers far north or south of projections.

That report will be out at 8:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time, along with import prices for January. Business inventories for December will be released at 10 a.m. Eastern.

The Tell; What to watch on the U.S. economy on Wednesday

�Resilient equity markets, rock-bottom equity volatility, and a range-bound government-bond market suggest a tranquil investor base that is not in the mood to be spooked by imminent news on politics or economics,� said Michael Gavin, head of global emerging-market strategy at Barclays, in a note.

� Need to Know: Crucial gut checks before the U.S. markets open /conga/story/misc/ntk_sixwide.html242157

Gavin said the big question is whether the January tax rises have �merely created headwinds for the economic recovery,� which can be overcome later in 2013, or whether the effect was adverse enough to force a rethink of existing economic and policy scenarios.

�If investors are not carefully focused on Wednesday�s data, it seems to us that they should be,� he added.

Another Fed speaker will step up to the podium as well on Wednesday. This time, St. Louis Fed President Bullard, a voter this year on policy, will speak at 11:10 a.m. Eastern time.

Reuters Enlarge Image U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 12, 2013. REUTERS/Charles Dharapak/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

Not much reaction is expected from President Barack Obama�s State of the Union address from after the market close on Tuesday. The president called on lawmakers to come together and end the �manufactured� crisis, while also urging Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour from the existing $7.25 rate. Read: Obama seeks to break free of budget fight

Investors will be looking to see whether markets can keep up the momentum from the prior session. The Dow industrials DJIA �rose 47.46 points, or 0.3%, to close at 14,018.70, a five-year high. Financial stocks led the gains. Read: Dow closes above 14,000, hits 5-year high

Also read: Dow 17,000? Main Street lambs led to the slaughter