Early indications point to a flat open, with cautious trading expected ahead of New Home Sales data and testimony from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Thirty minutes before the opening bell, stock index futures hint at modest early gains for both the Dow and the NASDAQ.

With no economic stats to guide the early action, focus will turn to new home sales numbers at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. Economists expect to see improvement to an annual rate of 354,000 homes in January, up from 342,000 the month before.

Then, Bernanke is in the hotseat in front of House Financial Services Committee, with testimony scheduled to begin at 10:00. The head of the Federal Reserve is likely to stick to script in prepared remarks, but the question and answer period could hold some fireworks after the Fed unexpectedly moved to raise the discount rate last week.

Bonds are in wait-and-see mode ahead of the event risk. The benchmark ten year Treasury is down 3/32nd and yields 3.7 percent.

The dollar is flat at 90.21 against Japanese yen. Meanwhile, the euro recaptured .0036 to 1.3545 against the buck.

Action in the commodities market is mixed. Crude oil added 39 cents to $79.25 ahead of weekly inventory data. Gold lost another $7.2 to $1096 an ounce.

Among the stocks to watch, STEC is down almost 30 percent after guiding first quarter estimates lower late yesterday. The company sees a loss of between 11 and 13 cents per share. Analysts were expecting a 29 cent per share profit.

Transocean (RIG), H&R Block (HRB), and Monsanto (MON) are also lower on earnings news. Software maker Autodesk (ADSK) and homebuilder Toll Brothers (TOL) are seeing post earnings strength. Google (GOOG) is in the spotlight on reports EU antitrust regulators are looking at how the company deals with advertising partners. GOOG slipped .4 percent in pre-market action.