Bracing for Bernanke

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures were weaker Thursday as investors nervously anticipated testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

At 9:05 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) rounded out earnings from the investment brokerages. Bear Stearns reported a steep drop in third-quarter profit while Goldman Sachs reported third-quarter results well ahead of Wall Street projections.

Futures bounced off of earlier lows after the news from troubled Wall Street but investors are keeping a keen eye on Capitol Hill, where Bernanke and Secretary Treasury Henry Paulson are set to testify before a House panel about mortgage foreclosures.

In prepared testimony released ahead of the hearing, Bernanke said - among other things - that the Fed will propose additional consumer protections against foreclosure.

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. The dollar was also lower versus the yen in early trading.

Oil prices continued to rise in early trading, after the inventory report Wednesday sent oil to a record high close for the third straight day. U.S. crude for October delivery gained 31 cents to $82.24 a barrel in electronic trading.

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.

Nasdaq Stock Market (Charts) and Borse Dubai reached a deal announced Thursday under which Borse Dubai will acquire just under 20 percent of Nasdaq and 28 percent of the London stock exchange, while Nasdaq will take over Nordic bourse operator OMX AB.

The United Auto Workers union and General Motors (Charts, Fortune 500) have at least temporarily tabled talk about creating a multibillion-dollar union-controlled trust fund assume responsiblity for retiree health-care obligations of retirees, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and Detroit News.

Both papers said that talks on the subject could still be revived as talks continue. But if the union does not agree to the funds, it was be a huge setback to the bargaining goals of GM as well as rivals Ford Motor (Charts, Fortune 500) and Chrysler Group, whose deals with the union are expected to follow the pattern set in whatever deal is reached at GM.

Shares of Dow component GM and Ford were both down more than 1 percent in Frankfurt trading.

General Electric (Charts, Fortune 500) unit NBC Universal will start offering limited free downloads of its primetime shows as part of its bid to expand the digital distribution of its programs and compete with Apple's (Charts, Fortune 500) iTunes Store. NBC, which had provided 30 percent of the video content downloaded on iTunes, ended its agreement with Apple last month.