Before the bell:

U.S. stocks were poised for gains before the opening bell Wednesday, after robust Chinese growth numbers calmed investors.
China's economy grew at an annual pace of 9.5% between April and June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. That marks a slight slowdown from the first quarter, but the reported growth was higher than economists expected.
Economy: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will begin his semi-annual testimony to Congress about monetary policy and the economy on Wednesday. Bernanke will appear before the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives.
The Energy Department's weekly oil inventories report comes out in the morning.
Companies: Late Tuesday, Electronic Arts (ERTS) announced it is buying mobile game maker PopCap Games for $750 million in cash and stock.
After the closing bell Wednesday, fast food company Yum! Brands (YUM, Fortune 500) and hotel chain Marriott (MAR, Fortune 500) will report quarterly earnings.
World markets:

Oil for August delivery dropped 36 cents to $97.07 a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $10.80 to $1,572.90 an ounce. Earlier Wednesday, the precious metal hit an intraday record of $1,579.70 an ounce. The previous intraday record was $1,577.40, set on May 2.
The precious metal hit a record high close Tuesday, after the minutes from the Fed's June policy meeting indicated the central bank might be open to more monetary stimulus.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.94% from 2.88% late Tuesday.