09:11 AM EDT, 07/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US stocks look set to open slightly higher in Wednesday's trading session as investors await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony before the Joint Economic Committee later this morning.

Powell will deliver a prepared statement during his second day of testimony, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session with the Committee.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.06%, S&P 500 futures were rising 0.24%, and Nasdaq futures gained 0.37%.

Oil prices were slightly lower, with front-month global benchmarks Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude declining 0.15% and 0.01% respectively.

The Energy Information Administration's Crude Oil Inventories, an inflationary indicator that measures the weekly change in commercial crude oil held by US firms, is slated for release this morning. Inventories are expected to decline by 250,000 for the week, according to Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.61%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.29%, and China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.68%. Meanwhile in Europe's early afternoon session, the UK's FTSE 100 was rising 0.62%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC were up 0.63% and 0.67% respectively.

On the winning side, shares of Longeveron ( LGVN ) soared 108% in the premarket session after it said Wednesday that the US Food and Drug Administration granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation to Lomecel-B, the company's investigational cell therapy, for treating mild Alzheimer's Disease. Virpax Pharmaceuticals' ( VRPX ) shares rose 94% after it reported positive results Wednesday in a swine model pilot study of Probudur, the company's liposomal bupivacaine formulation. VivoPower International ( VVPR ) stock jumped 81% after it said late Tuesday that it has secured an amendment and extension to its $34 million shareholder loan financing agreement. Ampco-Pittsburgh's ( AP ) shares surged 42% after it said late Tuesday that subsidiary Union Electric Steel has been chosen to supply the initial provisioning of rolls for two new rolling mill projects under construction. And shares of NaaS Technology ( NAAS ) advanced 43%, adding to Tuesday's 68% gain.

On the losing side, shares of LegalZoom.com ( LZ ) plunged 28% after JMP Securities downgraded the company Wednesday to market perform from outperform. Zapp Electric Vehicles Group's ( ZAPP ) stock tumbled 27% after jumping 94% the previous session. Stardust Power (SDST) shares fell 16%, more than wiping out Tuesday's 4% gain. Shares of Cimpress ( CMPR ) lost 15%, adding to a slight loss on Tuesday. And shares of Sify Technologies ( SIFY ) were down 15%, adding to a 7% loss the previous session.