US pre-open: Stocks mixed ahead of Powell's House testimony

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Wednesday as Jerome Powell gets set to return to Capitol Hill for a second straight day.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.03%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.15% and 0.28%, respectively.

The Dow closed 52.82 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that reducing policy restraint too late or too little could "unduly weaken" economic activity and employment.

He also told Congress that: "More good data would strengthen our confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%." Powell will continue his two-day testimony at 1500 BST, this time in front of the House Financial Services Committee.

On the macro front, mortgage applications dipped 0.2% in the first week of July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications to refinance a mortgage fell 2% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a home rose 1% on the previous week.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Wednesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com