Before the bell 05-17-06: AAPL, GE, TWX, WMT

 Market Overview:

Stock futures were pointing towards a higher open at 7:30 a.m. The biggest recent positive  was strong results posted after the close last night from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). The computer and peripheral maker earned $1.6 billion, or 54 cents a share in the quarter (excluding some expenses), up from $1.1 billion, or 37 cents, a year ago. Chip maker Applied Materials (AMAT) also posted strong results, but its shares were trading down early this morning as investors worried over its sales forecast.

The release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April is due out at 8:30 a.m. and will likely set the tone for the rest of the trading day. Economists expect the core reading (which excludes energy and food), to be up 0.2% and the overall index to be up 0.5%. If either number is less than that, it could be good news for the market, which is concerned about inflation pressures. The core Producer Price Index, reported Tuesday, was lower than expected.

Commodities were making up some lost ground this morning as oil climbed just above $70 and gold returned to $700 an ounce. Data on oil inventory levels is due out at 10:30 a.m. this morning.

Here's a look at some key Blogging Stocks this morning:

Apple (AAPL) shares were down 6 cents to $64.92 in after hours trading last night.  "Sleek industrial design" marks the newly-unveiled MacBook, which includes Intel Core Duo processors. And it's black.

General Electric (GE) shares were up 5 cents to $34.84 in after hours trading last night. GE's "ecomagination" environmentally-sound initiatives saw revenues jump 63% in 2005, according to the company's report.

Time Warner (TWX) shares fell 6 cents to $17.56 right after the close last night. News of AOL UnCut, a video uploading service currently in beta, is being called "a near-clone of YouTube" by most of the industry watchers. Most interesting is the news that a third-party contractor will scan the videos for offensive and illegal content.

Wal-Mart (WMT) was up 20 cents to $48:08 in after hours trading last night. The stock got a lift from its strong earnings report yesterday.  MarketWatch takes a closer look at Wal-Mart's inventory system and what it means for ongoing profits.