Stocks are indicated lower, as the tone of trading remains cautious ahead of consumer confidence data and two days of testimony from Fed Chairman Bernanke. Less than thirty minutes before the opening bell, stock index futures indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average might fall 20 or 30 points at the open.

Economic data will guide some of the early action. The Case Shiller 20-City Index released early Tuesday morning showed home prices falling 3.1 percent in December. The decline follows a 5.1 percent drop the previous month and was in-line with expectations.

The Conference Board releases its index of consumer confidence at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. Economists expect a dip to 55 for February, down from 55.9 the month before.

The tone of trading might also remain cautious ahead of two days of testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The Fed head will face tough questions from both the House and Senate Wednesday and Thursday after the Fed’s surprise move to raise the discount rate last week.

Bonds are working higher ahead of the news. The benchmark ten year Treasury added 7/32nd and now yields 3.77 percent.

The dollar slipped .40 to 90.75 against the Japanese yen. Meanwhile, Euro woes continue. The European currency lost another .0042 to 1.3552 against the buck.

Look for weakness in the energy, metals, and mining names after crude oil fell $1.22 to $79.04 a barrel and gold gave up $5 to $1108 an ounce.

Among the stocks to watch, Dow component Home Depot (HD) shares are steady after the home improvement retailer reported a 24 cent per share quarterly profit, which beat Street estimates by 7 cents.

Sears Holdings (SHLD) and Liz Claiborne (LIZ) are also higher on earnings. However, retailers Macy’s (M), Radioshack (RSH), and Nordstrom (JWN) are seeing post earnings weakness.

PALM fell 4.5 percent after BofA/Merrill downgraded the stock to Underperform. Helmerich & Payne (HP) added 3 percent on news it will replace IMS Health in the S&P 500. Homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) and oil driller Transocean (RIG) might see action today ahead of earnings, due out tomorrow before the bell.