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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were set to open lower Wednesday, as investors awaited U.S. Treasury secretary Tim Geithner's comments on the economy and jobs, and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's House testimony about the deficit.
Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all lower ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.
Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott, said investors were losing steam and futures flattening out after a series of rallies.
"It's the fact that it's gone up so much so quickly that we're getting some buying exhaustion occurring," he said, noting that what must go up must come down. "I don't think we've completely broken the laws of Newtonian physics."
David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, agreed that the markets are losing momentum after seven straight days of gains. He also said that investors could be waiting in the sidelines ahead of scheduled remarks by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
He also said investors could be waiting until a White House report about a possible phase-out of mortgage backers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae comes out later this week.
"Everybody understands that Fannie and Freddie are not sustainable," Wyss said. "Which way do you go with that?"
Stocks posted another day of solid gains Tuesday, with the Dow climbing for its seventh straight day, as traders cheered news in the consumer sector and looked past China's latest interest rate hike.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 72 points, or 0.6%, to close at 12,233.
Economy: Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, the nation's top monetary policy maker, is scheduled to testify before the House Budget Committee, with the focus on the budget deficit.
Before the open, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be speaking at The Atlantic's town hall event in Washington on building the economy and the future of jobs.
After markets open, a weekly government report on crude oil inventories is expected.
Companies: Dow component Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) reported quarterly results before the market opened and matched analyst expectations. The soft drink maker reported that fourth-quarter earnings rose 9% to 72 cents per share.
Coke shares gained more than 1% in premarket trading.
Cisco Systems (CSCO, Fortune 500) will report quarterly results after the closing bell.
Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) fell nearly 3% in premarket trading after the bank announced late Tuesday that chief financial officer Howard Atkins is retiring. The company said the retirement wasn't due to Wells' financial condition or reporting.
World markets: European stocks were slightly lower in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.3%, the DAX in Germany was flat and France's CAC 40 edged down 0.1%.
Asian markets ended down in reaction to China's central bank raising key interest rates the day before. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.9%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 1.4%, and Japan's Nikkei slid 0.2%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar was flat versus the euro but rose against the Japanese yen and the British pound.
Oil for March delivery gained 34 cents to $87.28 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $1 to $1,365.10 an ounce.
Bonds: The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were higher Wednesday, pushing the yield down to 3.7%. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.80% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.09% | 3.11% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.65% | 2.69% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.77% | 3.86% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.09% | 3.21% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,454.83 | -74.92 | -0.60% |
| Nasdaq | 2,837.53 | -1.85 | -0.07% |
| S&P 500 | 1,317.82 | -2.86 | -0.22% |
| Treasuries | 1.74 | -0.01 | -0.80% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.15 | 0.01 | 0.14% |
| Sprint Nextel Corp | 2.62 | 0.09 | 3.56% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 16.33 | -0.06 | -0.37% |
| Chesapeake Energy Co... | 15.81 | 0.23 | 1.48% |
| Ford Motor Co | 10.60 | 0.01 | 0.09% |
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