Stocks on Wall Street were expected to start higher on Wednesday, but in the abscence of fresh economic data ahead of the open, trade is likely to be thin as investors eye bond markets.

The US Treasury is due to reveal its quarterly issuance calendar at 1300 GMT and is widely expected to increase gross bond issuance to as much as $186bn in the current quarter to cover the US government's rising borrowing needs.

On the economic agenda during the US trading afternoon is the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report - a snapshot of business activity across the 12 Fed districts.

The June survey was cautiously optimistic and analysts expect July's survey to continue the trend. "Given the improvements in forward-looking data since the June report – notably the ISM and several regional PMIs – today's report should sound even more upbeat," said analysts at Nomura.

Futures trade indicated gains for US stocks at the open, with the Dow futures up 24 points, the S&P futures up 2.4 points and the Nasdaq futures up 4.5 points.

The earnings season begins to slow on Wednesday, with no Dow components reporting. Among those announcing their numbers ahead of the bell are Aetna, the insurer, which is expected to post earnings per share of $1.02, up from last year's 32 cents.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber is set to report a loss of 25 cents a share down from 18 cents which it posted last year.

Also before the open, drug store operator CVS is forecast to have earned 48 cents a share, up from last year's 43 cents.