U.S. futures edge higher, Fed in focus; Dow Jones up 0.08%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wednesday as investors eyed congressional testimony on the economy by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the day.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.08% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.10% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.11% increase.

Investors remained cautious ahead of testimony at the U.S. Joint Economic Committee by Ben Bernanke, amid speculation over whether the U.S. central bank will begin to scale back its asset purchase program this year.

The minutes of the Fed’s May meeting are to be released later in the trading day.

On Tuesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed should continue its bond buying and make adjustments as the economy changes.

Financial stocks were expected to be active, after JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon won more investor support this year than in 2012 to remain chairman, weathering a push to divide the roles after the largest U.S. bank suffered a record trading loss.

Shares in the U.S. lender edged up 0.15% in after-hour trade.

Tech companies were also likely to be in focus, as Sony’s board was reportedly discussing a proposal by Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC to spin off part of its entertainment business, sending shares tumbling 1.05% pre-market.

Separately, NetApp surged 3.63% in extended trading afteer the data-storage company said it’s cutting jobs and planning to return cash through stock buybacks and dividends.

Apple was also up pre-market, rising 0.16%, after Chief Executive Tim Cook testified before Congress on Tuesday as a U.S. Senate report on the company's offshore tax structure said the iPhone maker has kept billions of dollars in profits in Irish subsidiaries to pay little or no taxes to any government.

Other stocks in focus included Lowe's, American Eagle Outfitters, Hewlett-Packard, Eaton Vance, Synopsys, Seaworld Entertainment and Bristow, all scheduled to report first-quarter earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.54%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.61%, Germany's DAX slid 0.32%, while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.21%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.45%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.6%.