Reports Due, the Market Remains a Gamble

NEW YORK - With a raft of key economic reports scheduled this week, the stock market's direction remains a complete gamble. Wall Street caught a brief whiff of optimism last week when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional panel that economic activity was abating and inflation was so far contained - a sign of a possible end to the central bank's interest rate hikes.

However, he maintained the troubling stance that high energy costs, while putting the squeeze on consumer spending, could also drive up prices elsewhere. He also acknowledged the difficulty of balancing growth and inflation, and that under- or overshooting on interest rates will have serious …