U.S. Stocks Head Toward Lower Open

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks headed for a lower opening Wednesday as investors awaited congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about the economy.

Stocks had rallied last week after interpreting language from the Fed as opening the way to the possibility of a reduction in interest rates. Bernanke's testimony before a joint Congressional committee on the country's economic outlook comes a day after renewed concerns about the housing market helped send stocks lower.

The Dow Jones industrials had their biggest pullback in two weeks Tuesday after a report showing a drop in prices of single-family homes had investors theorizing that the housing market might continue to sour and hurt consumer spending.

Dow industrials futures expiring in June fell 46 points, or 0.37 percent, early Wednesday to 12,438. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 6.40, or 0.44 percent, to 1,434.20. Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 9.50, or 0.52 percent, to 1,800.75.

Beyond concerns about housing, Wall Street is watching as oil prices rise amid political tensions in the Middle East over the detention by Iran of British sailors. Light, sweet crude on Tuesday settled at its highest level since December on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Investors were also awaiting a Commerce Department on orders of durable goods for February. The market expects durable goods, which include items from washing machines to airplanes, will increase 3.0 percent after a 7.8 percent drop in January. Last month's weak reading for January helped contribute to a Feb. 27 global selloff.

In corporate news, homebuilder Beazer Homes USA Inc. is under investigation for its lending practices by several government agencies.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 0.64 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.78 percent. The Shanghai Composite index, after a volatile session in which it had been down sharply, rose 1.09 percent to its eighth straight record close.

In intraday trading, Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.13 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.59 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.58 percent.