Market Preview: The Waiting Game

Lazard also cut its 2012 earnings estimate to $1.68 a share from $1.72 a share, citing anticipated weakness in the company's indirect business and said it expects management to provide third-quarter guidance that's below the current consensus estimate for a profit of 39 cents a share. Still, the firm likes the company's overall prospects for patient investors.

"Despite short-term issues, we believe the long-term thesis remains intact," the firm said. "We continue to see significant top- and bottom-line growth potential coming from: (1) expanded product offerings, (2) expansion into under-penetrated markets, (3) channel mix (to higher margin retail), and (4) supply chain optimization."

Check out TheStreet's quote page for Vera Bradley for year-to-date share performance, analyst ratings, earnings estimates and much more.

Other companies reporting on Wednesday include Brown-Forman(BF.B) , Christopher & Banks(CBK) , Coldwater Creek(CWTR) , Fresh Market(TFM) , H.J. Heinz(HNZ) , JA Solar(JASO) , JoS. A. Bank Clothiers(JOSB) , Joy Global(JOY) , LTX-Credence(LTXC) , TiVo(TIVO) , and Zale Corp.(ZLC) .

The economic calendar is pretty stacked tomorrow with the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application activity index at 7 a.m. ET; the second estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. ET; pending home sales for July at 10 a.m. ET; weekly crude inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET; and the Federal Reserve's beige book report on economic conditions at 2:00 p.m. ET.

And finally, Dycom Industries(DY) was the big loser in late trades on Tuesday after the Palm Beach, Fla.-based contractor came in short of Wall Street's expectations for its fiscal fourth-quarter results.

The company, which provides engineering, manufacturing and construction services, reported earnings of $13.3 million, or 39 cents a share, for the July-ended quarter on revenue of $318 million. That performance was shy of the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for a profit of 41 cents a share on revenue of $323.7 million.

The stock was last quoted at $16.40, down 13.1%, on volume of more than 75,000, according to Nasdaq.com.

--Written by Michael Baron in New York.