With nothing on the economic slate and earnings season winding down, markets are likely to be flat this morning. Wall Street futures are only slightly higher.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan will be begin his regular two-day testimony on the state of the economy to Congress. Investors will be listening for hints about Fed sentiment regarding an increase in interest rates. There is some concern among analysts that the recent market surge has been too much, too fast.

In Europe at midday stocks are lower, dragged down by a weak profit report from oil giant BP, as well as concerns that higher oil prices and the strong euro could hurt Europe’s economic recovery. London’s FTSE100 is down 25.40, or 0.6%, 4,409.00. Paris’s CAC40 Index has fallen 13.65, or 0.4%, to 3,650.08. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax Index is down 10.67, or 0.3%, to 4,088.30.

In Asia the profit-takers were out in force. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell for the third straight session, ending down 37.21 points, or 0.4%, to 10,365.40. It was the first time the Nikkei fell below the 10,400 since Christmas Day. In Hong Kong the Hang Seng Index slipped 61.02 points, or 0.45%, to 13,515.66.

On Monday, the Toronto S&P/TSX composite index ran contrary to the rest of North American markets. It rose 56.59 points, or 0.66%, to 8,695.20, marking its highest level since February 2001. But in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average, slid 14 points, or 0.13%, to finish at 10,579.03. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.17%, or 3.44 points, to 2,060.57, while the broad S&P 500 fell 0.26%, or 2.95 points, to 1,139.81.