1. Janet Yellen under the spotlights

All eyes are on Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen.

She's making an appearance before Congress Thursday morning to talk about the state of the U.S. economy.

Wall Street will be combing through her prepared remarks, which are expected to be released at 12:00GMT. Traders will be looking for more hints that the Federal Reserve chair supports raising interest rates in December.

Lawmakers will have their final chance to grill the Fed chair before a possible rate hike in December.

Yellen's testimony will start at 14:00GMT She's expected to be asked about President-elect Donald Trump's push for fiscal stimulus, and whether that could allow the Fed to raise rates more aggressively.

2. Global market overview

Investors are getting back into bonds after a stunning sell-off in the wake of the U.S. election.

Trump's promise to unleash massive infrastructure spending and gigantic tax cuts spurred selling across a range of government bonds around the world.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes is dipping to 2.2% this morning. Yields had surged to nearly 2.4% at the start of the week, up from about 1.8% before the election.

Stock market trading is relatively muted right now. U.S. stock futures are not making any major moves ahead of the open.

European markets are mixed in early trading. Asian markets ended the day with minor gains and losses, but nothing dramatic.

3. U.S. dollar in focus

The U.S. dollar hit a 13-year high on Wednesday but now it's dipping back down a bit.

The ICE Dollar Index hit 100.57 yesterday. The index tracks the dollar's value versus the world's most traded currencies.

The greenback has been driven up by investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates more quickly under a Trump presidency.

4. Earnings and economics

Best Buy (BBY), Staples (SPLS) and Walmart (WMT) are some of the key companies reporting earnings before the opening bell.

Investors will be looking for details about how consumer spending held up during the election. They'll also expect forecasts for the holiday shopping season.

Salesforce.com (CRM, Tech30), Gap (GPS) and Williams-Sonoma (WSM) are releasing earnings after the close.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is releasing inflation data for October at 12:30GMT. The Census Bureau will release reports on housing starts and building permits at the same time.