NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to open lower Wednesday as investors anticipated another round of grim economic reports and remained nervous about the outlook for a federal bailout of the auto industry.

At 7:08 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were lower.

"The problem is the real specter of what we do on the GM front," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co. "It's really hanging over the market right now. It's the 400-pound gorilla."

Hogan said the failure of General Motors "would be catastrophe for the economy." But he said the industry faces a serious challenge in creating "fuel-efficient and in-demand" vehicles in an economy with "too many cars and not enough buyers."

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and give an indication of how markets will open when trading begins in New York.

Trading was choppy Tuesday, but U.S. stocks managed to finish the day in positive territory. The Dow gained 1.8%, the S&P 500 index rose 1% and the Nasdaq composite ended little changed.

Overseas markets weren't buoyed, however, by the gains on Wall Street. Asian markets finished Wednesday's session lower and European stocks tumbled in morning trading.

Big Three: The CEOs of automakers Ford (F, Fortune 500), General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler head back to Capitol Hill to plead with House lawmakers for a bailout.

The case for a bailout came under sharp scrutiny Tuesday when the auto executives testified before the Senate Banking Committee.

The industry has been lobbying hard for a $25 billion loan from the $700 billion bailout slated for the finance sector.

Housing: Economists are expecting more bad news about the housing sector. The Commerce Department is due to release readings on housing starts and building permits at 8:30 a.m. ET. Both are expected to have tumbled in October.

Building permits are seen falling to an annual rate of 760,000 in October, down from 786,000 the prior month, according to a consensus of economist opinions from Briefing.com. An annual rate of 780,000 housing starts is expected for October, down from 817,000 in the prior month.

Concerns about the housing slump pressured stocks Tuesday after a survey of homebuilders showed sentiment fell to yet another low in November.

Consumer prices: The Labor Department will release its Consumer Price Index, a monthly report on prices at the consumer level, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The CPI is expected to have fallen 0.8% in October, according to a consensus of economist projections from Briefing.com, following a flat September. The core CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have slipped 0.1% in October.

On Tuesday, the government reported that the wholesale price of goods fell 2.8% in October, a record drop that was steeper than expected.

Fed minutes: At 2 p.m. ET, the Fed releases the minutes from its Oct. 29 meeting. The central bank cut a key short-term interest rate by a half-percentage point to 1% at that meeting.

Companies: Stocks to watch include Boeing (BA, Fortune 500). The company is delaying jet deliveries by as much as 10 weeks as it attempts to recover from a strike by its machinists, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Oil and money: The dollar displayed some weakness, falling in the face of the euro, the yen and the British pound. Oil prices fell 29 cents a barrel to $54.10 in electronic trading.