U.S. stocks open modestly lower as investors await Powell testimony

U.S. stock indexes opened modestly lower on Tuesday as traders awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony before Congress on the state of the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.07%
shed 5 points, leaving it nearly flat at 33,425.The S&P 500
SPX,
-1.45%
and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-1.76%
each dropped 0.1%. Powell is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday to deliver the first part of his two-day semiannual monetary policy testimony. He will also be quizzed by the House Financial Services panel on Wednesday. Both hearings begin at 10 a.m. Eastern.