Wall Street opened flat on Tuesday after a two-day rout, as investors focused on testimonies on Capital Hill and wholesale prices declined sharply last month.
The US Labour Department reported on Tuesday that wholesale prices dropped by 2.8 per cent in October, the biggest one-month decline on record with energy prices falling drastically.
Investors were closely watching the possible bailout of the auto industry. Executives of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler LLC and the head of the United Auto Workers Union are to testify Tuesday at a Senate Banking Committee hearing as the automakers seek 25 billion dollars in government aid.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also testified on the use of the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Programme) on Capitol Hill after the government abandoned the original strategy of a 700-billion-dollar rescue plan.
Meanwhile, Yahoo Inc. founder Jerry Yang announced late Monday that he was stepping down as Chief Executive of the company, which was regarded as an opening to a sale to Microsoft.
The Dow Jones fell 9.88 to 8,264.34. Broader indexes moved slightly higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.04 to 850.79, and the NASDAQ fell 8.22 to 1,490.27.