Nasdaq Futures Up 75 Pts; Powell Testimony in Focus By Investing.com – Investing.com

Nasdaq Futures Up 75 Pts; Powell Testimony in Focus By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Peter Nurse   

Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening higher Tuesday, continuing the previous session’s late rebound ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s confirmation testimony.

At 7 AM ET (1200 GMT), the contract was up 80 points, or 0.2%, traded 17 points, or 0.4%, higher and climbed 75 points, or 0.5%.

The major indices on Wall Street clawed back some of their losses on Monday after opening sharply lower on concerns about rising interest rates, with the tech-heavy actually closing higher.

This positive tone is expected to continue Tuesday as investors await U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's before the Senate Banking Committee. 

In his opening for the hearing released in advance, Powell pledged to prevent high inflation from becoming "entrenched," but did not provide clues about the central bank’s timeline and speed of monetary tightening.

Powell will most likely be pressed about how many interest rate rises will be necessary this year. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, one of the more hawkish voices at the central bank late last year, told The Wall Street Journal he only expects three hikes but that there is a risk that a fourth may