TIMOTHY GEITHNER

Wall Street was poised for a lower open on Wednesday as investors took in a slew of mixed results from major companies and a quarterly loss from Morgan Stanley increased jitters over the financial sector.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wednesday as cautious investors awaited another round of earnings results and comments from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

U.S. banks will be briefed by regulators as early as Friday on how they performed in government stress tests, before the results are made public later, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing government officials.

Dow Jones futures were down 0.5 percent at 0920 GMT, S&P 500 futures off 0.7 percent and Nasdaq futures off 0.5 percent, suggesting a softer start for U.S. stocks on Wednesday.

Stocks in Japan and South Korea rose on Wednesday but most Asian markets slipped as caution spread, pushing up the U.S. dollar and yen, before official results of U.S. bank stress tests are released on May 4.

Asian stocks edged up on Wednesday supported by the top U.S. Treasury official saying most banks have adequate capital, but caution was likely to reign until official results of stress tests were released on May 4.

Most U.S. banks have enough capital to keep lending but a pile of bad debts is fostering doubts about their health and slowing a recovery, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner indicated most banks have sufficient reserves to protect against possible losses, sparking a rebound in bank shares.

Stocks rose on Tuesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the vast majority of banks are well capitalized, soothing worries over the need for the struggling sector to raise more money.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that most U.S. banks have enough capital to keep lending but a pile of bad debts is fostering doubts about their health and slowing a recovery.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that most U.S. banks have enough capital to keep lending but a pile of bad debts is fostering doubts about their health and slowing a recovery.

Stocks rose on Tuesday, led by the financial sector, after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the vast majority of U.S. banks are well capitalized and industrial bellwether United Technologies Corp reported forecast-beating earnings.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday said difficulty in setting a value on banks' toxic assets was a continuing hindrance to their ability to lend and borrow.

On Tuesday the Treasury Department said $109.6 billion are reaming in the in resources remain in the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund.

The Treasury still has about $134.6 billion available in its coffers from last fall's bank bailout package and that should be enough for it to avoid asking Congress for more money, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he would consider the health of the financial system and the flow of credit in deciding whether banks can repay bailout funds from the government, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner does not see a second wave of banking collapses and the government is ready to support capital-raising when needed, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner does not see a second wave of banking collapses and the government is ready to support capital-raising when needed, a Japanese newspaper said on Sunday.

On Tuesday U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be questioned over his handling of the program and how he plans his plans to remove problem assets from bank balance sheets.

Top executives of credit card companies will meet Obama administration officials next Thursday at the White House, as the industry faces the possibility of legislation aimed at curbing deceptive practices, sources familiar with the plans said.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants to create a special panel to investigate the causes of the Wall Street meltdown that helped put the country into a severe economic recession, a spokesman said on Thursday.