Before the bell:

U.S. stocks were poised for a flat start Wednesday, as investors remained nervous about the spreading unrest in the Middle East region and Japan's recovery efforts.

Economy: Investors will get February new home sales figures from the Census Bureau at 14:00 GMT. Economists are looking for 288,000 annualized units for February, up slightly from 284,000 units in January.
The government's weekly report on crude inventories will also be released after the opening bell.
Companies: Before the bell, General Mills (GIS) said its fiscal-third quarter earnings rose 18%. The cereal maker, which raised prices in October, said it expects strong earnings growth in the fourth quarter.
Shares of homebuilder PulteGroup (PHM) rose 5% in premarket trading after Goldman Sachs raised its price target on the stock.
Bank of America (BAC) shares slid 1.7% premarket. The bank said in that it would need to revise its dividend plan after the Fed objected to the company's original proposal.
Oil for May delivery, which became the front-month contract Wednesday, gained 42 cents to $105.39 a barrel.
World markets: