NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks investors were on hold early Wednesday ahead of the comments from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and two current Fed policymakers that could determine if the Dow can stay above the 11,000 mark.

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a slightly higher open for U.S. markets, ahead of the remarks. Greenspan is set to testify at a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing on oil dependence and economic risks at 9 a.m.

Also set to make remarks Wednesday are Fed Governor Mark Olson, who gives opening remarks at a hearing on home lending, and Atlanta's Fed President Jack Guynn, who talks on the economy. Comments by current Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on the need to battle inflation on Monday sent stocks into a sharp two-day sell-off.

Wachovia economist Phillip Neuhart said that markets are on particular watch for any signals from the Fed about the future of interest rate hikes, and that the Fed officials seem to be waging a coordinated campaign right now to show that they'll raise rates as high as necessary to contain prices.

"I think people will pay attention to Greenspan, because he is Greenspan, and Bernanke is new. But he's not making Fed policy anymore," Neuhart said. "He'll probably be careful not to say anything that might be interpreted as a signal about interest rates. From the others, I really expect more of the same type of language, signaling to the market we're going to be tough on inflation."

Neuhart said that while futures picked up some ground in early going on a stronger outlook for chips from a Semiconductor Industry Association report released early Wednesday, he thinks the market will stay focused mostly on the Fed.

"The market just feels real volatile. People are still trying to digest what a hike in June might mean," he said.

Fed funds futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were showing an 84 percent chance of a hike at the June 29 meeting in Wednesday trading, which is compared to less than a 50 percent chance of a hike that was expected as recently as last Friday following a weaker than expected jobs report.

Oil prices were lower ahead of the 10:30 a.m. ET weekly report on U.S. inventories.

The July light crude futures contract for NYMEX was down 75 cents to $71.75 in electronic trading, while the July contract for Brent crude lost 54 cents to $70.27

Major markets closed lower in Asia, while major European markets were little changed in early trading.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 5.02 percent from the 5.0 percent level reached late Tuesday. The dollar was little changed against the yen but up against the euro.

In corporate news, Pfizer (Research) has received bids of more than $14 billion for its consumer products division, according to a report in the New York Times. Bidders include British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (Research), U.S. drug and consumer product maker Johnson & Johnson (Research), as well as a British household cleaning products maker, Reckitt Benckiser. But the paper reported that leading U.S. consumer products company Procter & Gamble (Research) did not make a bid for the unit. Well known products such as Listerine, Rolaids and Sudafed would be included in the sale.

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