US Stock Futures Down; Bernanke, Bank Of America Earnings In Focus

US stock futures are lower this morning, ahead of a second day of testimony by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 30 points to 12,707.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 5.10 points to 1,353.40. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 7.25 points to 2,579.75.

US stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.62% to 12,805.54, the S&P 500 index gaining 0.74% to 1,363.67 and the Nasdaq 100 index surging 0.45% to 2,910.04.

Data on June housing starts will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.14 on revenue of $22.87 billion. Yum! Brands (NYSE: YUM) is projected to post its Q2 earnings at $0.70 per share on revenue of $3.12 billion. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is estimated to report its Q2 EPS at $1.22 on revenue of $9.84 billion.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $0.70 on revenue of $4.98 billion. International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) is expected to post its Q2 EPS at $3.42 on revenue of $26.31 billion. eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is estimated to post its Q2 earnings at $0.55 per share on revenue of $3.36 billion.

Dover (NYSE: DOV) is expected to report its Q2 earnings at $1.13 per share on revenue of $2.19 billion. Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) is projected to report its Q2 EPS at $1.12 on revenue of $9.56 billion.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) reported upbeat Q2 adjusted earnings. However, the company lowered its quarterly sales forecast.

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) reported higher-than-expected Q2 adjusted earnings. However, the company's net revenue missed analysts' estimates.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.16%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.22%, French CAC 40 Index gained 0.49% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.26%.

Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 0.32%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.37% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.45%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 1.11% India's Sensex rose 0.47%.

Nymex crude-oil futures dropped $0.41 to $88.81 a barrel, while gold futurees fell $13.20 to $1,576.30 an ounce.

The dollar index (DXY) gained 0.30% to 83.27.

BY Monica Gerson