The Energy Department will likely report a 1.8 million-barrel drop in crude oil reserves on Wednesday for the week ended Sept. 4, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

A panel of federal experts will consider Wednesday whether GlaxoSmithKline’s long-delayed vaccine Cervarix should be approved in the U.S. to prevent cervical cancer in women, even as competitor Merck requests expanded use of its vaccine for boys.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 down 0.3-0.5 percent.

U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday on an uptick in corporate deal activity while the weak dollar led to gains in commodities, lifting shares of oil and mining companies.

Rising commodities prices and stirrings of corporate takeovers are making investors more optimistic about the economy. Stocks rose for the third straight day Tuesday as gold topped $1,000 an ounce for the first time since February and oil jumped more than $3 a barrel.

Consumers slashed their borrowing in July by the largest amount on record as job losses and uncertainty about the economic recovery prompted Americans to rein in their debt.

Airline investors didn’t seem to mind that oil prices jumped. Shares moved only slightly, even as crude prices climbed to $71.30 a barrel after settling just above $68 on Friday.

Amphenol Corp. shares rose after a Thomas Weisel Partners analyst upgraded the stock to “Overweight,” saying he’s increasingly confident in the company’s prospects.