Stocks and Markets in the News | U.S. Futures Indications - MarketWatch

By William L. Watts, MarketWatch 

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock index futures drifted lower Wednesday, with investors set to eye a second day of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke against a backdrop of continuing worries over the global economic outlook and a flow of corporate earnings results.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU2 -0.27% fell 36 points to 12,701.

S&P 500 index futures SPU2 -0.35% fell 5 points to 1,353.50, while Nasdaq-100 futures NDU2 -0.28% declined 7.25 points to 2,579.75. 

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U.S. stocks ended higher Tuesday after shaking off initial disappointment in the wake of testimony by Bernanke that offered no clues the Fed is imminently prepared to launch another round of monetary easing.

Equities were lifted later in the session as market participants parsed Bernanke’s testimony, said David Morrison, senior market strategist at GFT Markets, in emailed comments.

“In the current ‘Alice in Wonderland’ world that we live in, investors took heart from Ben Bernanke’s gloomy outlook for the global economy,” and weighed prospects for another round of large-scale asset purchases, Morrison said. 

Bernanke’s second day of testimony is likely to be less of a draw, he said, but noted that questions about the Libor-setting scandal could mean the role of U.S. financial institutions in the controversy could move into the spotlight. 

Reuters

Investors will keep a close eye on Bank of America’s results on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, stronger-than-expected earnings results Tuesday from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS +0.31% and Coca-Cola Co. KO +1.58% helped boost Wall Street, analysts said.

The flow of earnings continues Wednesday, with results expected ahead of the bell from Abbott Laboratories ABT +1.50% , Bank of America Corp. BAC +1.41% , BlackRock Inc. BLK +0.49% , Honeywell International Inc. HON +0.11% and others.

Also in focus, Yahoo Inc. YHOO -0.29% reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, excluding items, after the closing bell on Tuesday. Yahoo shares traded 1.1% lower in Frankfurt.

Chip maker Intel Corp. INTC +0.99% reported adjusted second-quarter earnings Tuesday that topped most forecasts. Intel shares lost 0.8% in Frankfurt.

The economic calendar features June housing starts data at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Fed will release its “beige book” compilation of anecdotal, regional economic performance at 2 p.m. Eastern.

European stocks got a lift after Credit Suisse Group CH:CSGN +5.37% XE:CSX1 +5.96% reported a 3.6% rise in second-quarter net profit. The Stoxx 600 Europe index XX:SXXP +0.12% rose 0.2%. Europe Markets

Growth worries kept most Asian markets under pressure. Asia Markets

Nymex crude-oil futures CLQ2 -0.50% lost 41 cents to $88.81 a barrel. Gold futures GCQ2 -0.71% dropped $13.20 to $1,576.30 an ounce.

The dollar index DXY +0.30% , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major rivals, rose to 83.182.

William L. Watts is MarketWatch's European bureau chief, based in Frankfurt.