Wall Street opens lower, eyes fixed on Powell's Congress testimony

US stock indices opened the second session of the week lower amid the second-quarter earnings season for major American banks and corporations, and following US data that showed industrial output rose past estimates in June, while the Capacity Utilization Rate accelerated below forecasts. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will present the first half of his Congressional testimony on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report before the Senate Banking Committee, in Washington DC later today.

Powell will present the second half before the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow, with investors looking for clues on future monetary policies and interest rate hikes this year. 

As of 01:54 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 shed 0.18%, or 5.09 points to 2,793.34, while Dow Jones slipped 0.19%, or 47.65 points to 25,016.71. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ fell 0.28%, or 21.91 points to 7,783.81.