Wall Street stock futures advanced Wednesday as crude oil continued to drop ahead of today’s weekly energy inventories data, losing US$2.40 to US$126 a barrel.

Gold futures also dropped sharply and the U.S. dollar rose against the yen.

Here at home, higher gasoline prices pushed consumer prices up 3.1% in the 12-months ending June 2008, compared with the 2.2% gain recorded in May. Statistics Canada said June’s increase was the largest since September 2005.

Excluding gasoline, consumer prices rose 1.8% in the 12 months to June.

The Canadian dollar opened at US99.01¢, down 0.16 of a cent.

South of the border, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a reading on the state of the U.S. economy, will be released this afternoon.

In today’s earnings news, A&T reported a 30% increase in quarterly profit as the wireless business continued to gain and from subscriber use of internet and email on phones produced a large surge in data revenue.

Pfizer’s net income more than doubled amid cost-cutting and lower restructuring charges.

Costco Wholesale warned its August-ending quarter’s profit would miss analyst estimates, which it attributed to rising energy costs.

After markets closed Tuesday, Yahoo posted a nearly 19% fall in net profit, and net revenue short of lowered Wall Street expectations.

Washington Mutual Inc, the largest U.S. savings and loan, reported a US$3.33 billion second-quarter loss, as the number of soured mortgages soared.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark index clawed its way back from a triple-digit loss to end slightly lower on Tuesday strength in financials offset a drop energy shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 46 points, or 0.34% at 13,643.19.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 24.01, points, or 1.05%, to finish at 2,263.66.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose as rallied as oil prices retreated, despite weaker earnings from several big U.S. companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 135.16 points, or 1.18%, to 11,602.50, while the S&P 500 ended up 17.00 points, or 1.35%, at 1,277.00. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 24.43 points, or 1.07%, at 2,303.96.