The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 16 degrees and sunny here in Upstate NY. We have no other choice but to be patient with the blast of polar air that is blanketing a lot of the country. It is a frigid blast. Meanwhile the pace at which we are getting more daylight each day is picking up. The birds are thinking spring, and it's nice to hear some of the familiar voices out there. It's hard to be patient with the cold, it is for me, spring is around the corner.

  At 8:35 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open a little higher.

  Investors will be parsing a slew of corporate reports and data on new home sales today. But in my opinion the real mover will be the testimony of new Fed Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later today. The Federal Reserve is the biggest player on the block, the bank of last resort as it were, and Yellen's words are as fluid as any currency.

CNN: Stocks: Holding steady as earnings flow

Investors are also awaiting testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday, which is likely to affect market sentiment.