U.S. stock indexes were little changed on Tuesday as investors waited for more hints on interest rate hikes from Federal Reserve policymakers and the start of second-quarter earnings.

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Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen starts two days of testimony on Wednesday as it prepares to unwind the massive hoard of bonds it bought to ease the financial crisis.

"We`ve got Yellen`s testimony tomorrow, there may be a little bit of nervousness ahead of that ... the semi-annual monetary policy testimony has often been a big deal for the markets," Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"I think there may be some fears that she`s going to come out relatively hawkish."

The Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard will speak on monetary policy on Tuesday before a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari will participate in a Town Hall question-and-answer session moderated by Bremer Bank CEO Jeanne Crain in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Oil prices fell as BNP Paribas cut its forecasts for Brent by $9 to $51 a barrel for 2017 and by $15 to $48 for 2018. Barclays also cut its 2017 and 2018 Brent forecasts to $52 a barrel.

Crude prices are about 18 percent below their 2017 opening levels despite a deal led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut production from January.

The dollar hit a four-month high against the yen and bonds and top emerging market currencies were back under pressure, on bets for higher interest rates in a small but growing group of major economies.

Investors will be looking at second-quarter earnings reports on Friday from big U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.

"My sense is you get a little bit of back and forth, no real clear sense of direction over the next several days," said Brown.

Nine of the 11 major S