The testimony of US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made investors cautious. As a result, stock markets all over the world wavered between gains and losses.

In Europe, stocks of France, Germany, and Britain fell. France's CAC, Germany's DAX, and Britain's FTSE each lost 0.2% to 3,842.43, 8,183.15, and 6,545.02, respectively. Wall Street also saw Dow and Standard & Poor's futures fall down 0.2%.

On the other side of the globe, Asian stocks witnessed a mix of gains and losses. Tokyo's Nikkei 225, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and Seoul's Kospi gained 0.1%, 0.3%, and 1.2%, respectively. The Nikkei was now at 14,615.04, the Hang Seng was 21,371.87, and the Kospi was at 1,889.50. In contrast, China's Shanghai Composite Index went down 1% to 2,044.92.

Investors expected the chairman's testimony to clarify when the regulator would start reducing its monetary stimulus. According to Mitul Kotecha, an analyst at Credit Agricole CIB, "There is partly caution ahead of Bernanke's testimony. I don't expect anything new. He is likely to reiterate that policies will remain accommodative for some time."