U.S. Bancorp

The companies which are expected to see active trade on Wednesday are Apple, Goldman Sachs, eBay, IBM, Cree, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp and Xilinx.

Futures on major U.S. indices point to a flat opening on Wednesday ahead of quarterly earnings from top investment bank Goldman Sachs and key housing data due to be released before market opens.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.55 points, or 0.19 percent, to finish at 11.674.76. At one point the Dow was down as much as 100 points. The S&P 500 dropped 2.35 points, or 0.18 percent, to 1271.50; while the Nasdaq shed 6.72 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2703.17.

Bank shares are weakening after the Massachusetts State Supreme Judicial Court upheld a decision that two foreclosures from U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) were not valid because the banks did not properly show they held the mortgages at the time of the foreclosure.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett praised the U.S. government for bailing out Wall Street and saving the U.S. economy during the height of the financial crisis.

Wells Fargo & Co and US Bancorp, two of the largest banks in the United States, said rising loan demand helped lift their earnings more than analysts had expected.

Wells Fargo & Co , the fourth-largest U.S. bank, reported lower second-quarter profit, but losses on commercial and consumer loans declined from the first quarter.

Wells Fargo & Co , the fourth-largest U.S. bank, reported lower second-quarter profit, but losses on commercial and consumer loans declined from the first quarter.

The pending $15 billion sale of a unit of American International Group to MetLife may be pushed back by a tax dispute that may require a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, the Wall Street Journal reported.