After moving modestly higher over the course of the previous session, stocks may see some further upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 32 points.
The upward momentum for the markets reflects optimism ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's highly-anticipated testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
While Fed officials have recently delivered mixed remarks regarding the outlook for the central bank's asset purchase program, Bernanke is expected to offer support for leaving monetary policy unchanged in the near future.
Along with Bernanke's remarks, traders are also likely to keep an eye on the National Association of Realtor's monthly report on existing home sales.
Economists expect the report to show that existing home sales rose to an annual rate of 5.0 million in April from 4.92 million in March.
Later in the day, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes of the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting held April 30th and May 1st.
The minutes are likely to show signs of the ongoing debate regarding the outlook for the asset purchase program, although the news may be overshadowed by Bernanke's more up-to-date remarks.
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