Light crude could trump light metal when it comes to carrying weight on Wall Street. Stock futures are pointing sideways after oil prices rebounded, dousing optimism sparked by Alcoa's higher-than-expected earnings late yesterday.

U.S. crude has risen toward $138 a barrel after news that Iran had test-fired nine missiles and warned that it was ready to retaliate if attacked over its disputed nuclear projects.

Oil inventories will even be the star on the data front, given that it's a light day in terms of other economic indicators.

U.S. Treasuries are mostly lower. The dollar is down against an index of major currencies.

The Wall Street Journal says less ad revenue is funneling through YouTube than parent Google had expected.

And the New York Post says a blind trust run by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg could pay as much as $5 billion for Merrill Lynch's stake in the financial news and data service that bears his name.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists ratified a new prime-time TV contract, which could cause efforts by the Screen Actors Guild for a better deal to ... er, sag.