Futures fall after latest records

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks could face trouble staying on their record run Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the downturn in housing will be a drag on the U.S. economy for longer than expected.

Stock futures fell in early trading, pointing to a lower open in U.S. equities, although they ticked up slightly after Bernanke began speaking, suggesting that at least some investors took the comment as a hopeful sign as to what it might mean about interest rates.

The markets will start the day with the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 all coming off of record closes.

Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co., said that he thinks traders are getting more concerned with the possibility of a Fed rate hike at some point in the future. He said because of that he expects them to be cautious after the recent run-up in stocks.

"I would say that as you look at the major indicies, you're talking about lofty levels," Hogan said. "It takes some support to keep us here."

Stocks in Asia closed mostly higher on new gains for Chinese stocks, while major markets in Europe were mostly higher in early trading.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is due to speak at 11:30 a.m. ET at the conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation. He's expected to discuss relations with China.

Avaya (Charts, Fortune 500), the maker of business communications equipment, agreed late Monday to be acquired by private-equity firms TPG Capital LLC and Silver Lake Partners for about $8.2 billion, or $17.50 per common share. That's a premium of 4.7 percent over Tuesday's close, but up 28 percent since reports of a possible purchased surfaced last week.

Rupert Murdoch said Monday that he had a "constructive" meeting with the Bancroft family that controls Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. (Charts) about the $5 billion bid for the company by Murdoch's News Corp. (Charts, Fortune 500)

News Corp. won a court victory for itself and other television networks late Monday when a U.S. appeals court overruled the Federal Communications Commission decision that expletives uttered on broadcast television violated decency standards.

Home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (Charts, Fortune 500) warned after the close Monday that its first-quarter earnings would be below Wall Street's average estimates. Its shares lost 2.4 percent in extended trade.

JetBlue (Charts) Chairman David Neeleman, the founder of the discount airline who was ousted as CEO after service problems there, and Soros Fund Management, which had held a nearly 9 percent stake in the company, both sold shares in the carrier in recent months, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Oil prices fell in early trading Monday, taking prices below the $66 a barrel level. U.S. light crude lost 33 cents $65.88 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury prices were lower, taking the yield on the 10-year note to 4.95 percent from the 4.93 percent level reached late Monday, although they rose slightly after Bernanke began to speak. The dollar was lower against the euro and the yen.