US stocks opened slightly lower overnight ahead of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress and a day after the bellwether Dow index hit a new two-year high.
At2am AEDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.19 points (0.00 per cent) at 12,233.42, while the broader S&P 500 index was down 2.15 points (0.16 per cent) at 1322.42.
The tech stock-weighted Nasdaq Composite index fell 4.24 points (0.15 per cent) to 2792.81.
Little-changed stock exchanges in Asia and Europe failed to deliver any stimulus one way or another to the US markets, as traders waited for any signs on the economy from Dr Bernanke, who was to make his first testimony in front of a committee from the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives today.
Neither did the newest company reports give the overall markets any boost.
"Earnings have been a non-factor this morning as broad-market participants shrug off an upside earnings surprise from Disney and in-line earnings from fellow Dow component Coca-Cola," said analysts at Briefing.Com.
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Walt Disney, which reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings late on Tuesday, rose 4.2 per cent to $42.91.
Coca-Cola meanwhile picked up 2.5 per cent to $64.45 after reporting fourth-quarter earnings per share at $2.46, more than triple the average forecast by analysts.
Bonds were higher after several days of falls. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 3.70 per cent from 3.72 yesterday, while the 30-year Treasury yield was down to 4.74 per cent from 4.76 per cent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.y
Dow settles near 2010 high as voters go to pollsWall St hit by rates and earnings
