Stock market today: gold hits a new high and US futures tread water as traders await more rates clarity from Powell

• US stock futures traded flat ahead of Thursday's opening bell.
• Traders will be eyeing Jerome Powell's congressional testimony, where he may give clues about rate cuts.

Stocks looked set to tread water at Thursday's opening bell, but gold extended its strong recent run as the precious metal hit another record high.

Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edged up by less than 0.2% in premarket trading, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped lower.

The muted trading came with investors waiting for the second day of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony.

His comments could give the market some much-needed signals about when the central bank will start cutting interest rates.

Powell stuck to the expected script when he appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.

He said the Fed will cut borrowing costs this year, but is waiting for more data that shows inflation is definitely cooling toward its 2% target level.

Meanwhile, gold climbed 0.3% to set a new high of $2,161.48 an ounce.

The precious metal tends to struggle when interest rates are likely to fall but may have drawn in buyers looking for safe havens due to ongoing tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.