Wall Street to open slightly higher as traders await Powell testimony

The main indices on Wall Street are set for a low key start on Tuesday as investors keep their powder dry ahead of the testimony to Congress by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell due later. After Monday's gains, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is forecast to edge up just 18 points or a minuscule 0.04%. There is little more excitement expected elsewhere, with the S&P 500 looking at a 0.1% gain and the Nasdaq Composite indicated 0.27% better. Powell's pre-released comments repeat the mantra that the central bank believes the current inflationary pressures are transitory. But last week's more hawkish tone from the Fed's regular meeting means markets are taking nothing for granted. Sophie Griffiths, market analyst at OANDA, said: "US stocks are pointing to a subdued start on the open, after strong gains in the previous session and ahead of Fed Chair Powell's appearance. The Dow booked its biggest one-day rally in three months on Monday. However, few are willing to add to those positions before hearing more from Powell." Four things to watch for on Tuesday: Companies in the earnings diary today include electrical equipment maker Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG), management consultancy Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) and software group Cognyte Software Ltd (NASDAQ:CGNT) Meme stock favourite GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) will be in focus after the video game retailer raised over US$1.1bn in a stock offering Google owner Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) may also draw attention following news of a new antitrust probe by EU authorities On the macro front, the Richmond Fed manufacturing index could provoke interest as well as data on US existing home sales