Bracing for Bear, Bernanke

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures were weaker Thursday as investors nervously anticipated earnings from troubled Wall Street firm Bear Stearns and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

At 4:50 a.m. ET, stocks were poised to open lower after two straight sessions of gains sparked by the Fed's decision to slash the target for a key short-term interest rate by half of a percentage point.

Bear Stearns (Charts, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (Charts, Fortune 500) round out earnings from the investment brokerages. Both are on tap to post results before the market open.

Weak results are expected at Bear, which has been one of the brokers hardest hit by the subprime mess and credit crunch. Analysts expect Goldman to post a rise in quarterly profit, despite the turmoil in financial markets.

Investors will also keep a keen eye on Capitol Hill, where Bernanke and Secretary Treasury Hank Paulson are set to testify before a House panel about mortgage foreclosures.

As always, any comments Bernanke makes about the housing sector will be closely scrutinized. Paulson is also expected to tell the panel that the Bush administration may consider allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy larger mortgages - a move that could help boost the slumping housing sector.

In currency trading, the euro topped $1.40 - its highest ever against the dollar - in the wake of the Fed's decision to cut rates.

Major markets in Asia advanced. European stocks were mostly lower in early trading as U.K. lawmakers grilled Bank of England Governor Mervyn King over his handling of the credit crisis.