(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session modestly lower, stocks are likely to move back to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently indicating a higher open, with the Dow futures currently up 54 points.

The upward momentum for the markets comes as traders react positively to the latest batch of economic data, including a report from the Labor Department showing that weekly jobless claims fell below the 500,000 level for the first time since early January.

The report showed that jobless claims in the week ended November 21st fell to 466,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 501,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge down to 500,000 from the 505,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Separately, the Commerce Department released its report on personal income and spending in the month of October, showing that income and spending both increased by a little more than economists had been expecting.

On the other hand, the Commerce Department also released a separate report showing that durable goods orders unexpectedly decreased in the month of October, although the report also showed a notable upward revision to pace of order growth in September.

Trading could also be impacted by the release of reports on new home sales and consumer sentiment, which are due to be released not long after the start of trading.

In corporate news, shares of Deere & Co. (DE) could see early weakness after the farm equipment maker reported a fourth quarter net loss of $0.53 per share compared to a year ago profit of $0.81 per share. Excluding items, the company earned $0.23 per share.

Looking ahead, Deere said it expects first quarter revenues to be down by about 10 percent compared to the same period a year ago. The company also forecast a 1 percent year-over-year decline in sales for fiscal 2010.

On the hand, Tiffany & Co. (TIF) is moving higher in pre-market trading after the jewelry retailer reported third quarter earnings that were flat year-over-year at $0.35 per share, coming in well above analyst estimates of $0.24 per share.

Tiffany also raised its earnings guidance for the full year, saying it now expects to report earnings of $1.88 to $1.98 per share compared to its previous forecast for earnings of $1.65 to $1.75 per share. Analysts had been expecting the company to earn $1.76 per share.

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