U.S. futures steady in cautious trade; Dow Jones down 0.03%

U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady open on Thursday, as investors remained cautious after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's highly watched comments on Wednesday. 

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.08% loss. 

In his semi-annual testimony before the Financial Services Committee in Congress Bernanke said the central bank expects to start tapering bond purchases by the end of the year, but added that there was no “preset course.”

Bernanke said the bank’s bond purchase program could be tapered at a faster pace, slower pace or even temporarily increased depending on economic and financial developments.

Bernanke said the economic recovery was continuing at a moderate pace but reiterated that monetary policy will remain accommodative for the foreseeable future. 

Yahoo was still up 0.13% in pre-marker trade, after suring over 10% on Wednesday, as the Internet company beat earnings expectations, though revenue and current-quarter guidance fell short of forecasts. In addition, at least seven brokerages lifted their price target on the company. 

Also among earnings, Bank of America edged up 0.07% in early trading, after gaining over 2% on Wednesday, as the U.S. lender posted a 70% jump in earnings, thanks to lower operating expenses. 

Citigroup was trending lower pre-market however, down 0.17%, while JP Morgan eased up 0.04%. 

On the downside, EBay, scheduled to post results after the closing bell, plummeted 6.08% in pre-market trading after saying third-quarter sales will be USD3.85 billion to USD3.95 billion, below analysts' estimates of USD3.97 billion. 

In company news, Michael Dell and Silver Lake Management, approaching a deadline to convince Dell shareholders to vote for their USD24.4 billion buyout, were said to be considering the USD13.65-a-share bid to be their best and final offer. 

Dell shares were down 0.31% in early trading. 

Other stocks expected to be in focus included American Express, Morgan Stanley, Google, Microsoft, IBM and Intel, scheduled to post results later in the day. 

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed to higher. The EURO STOXX 50 added 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.21%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.05%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.31%. 

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 0.12%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.32%. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release the weekly government report on initial jobless claims and data on the Philly Fed manufacturing index.