Major Averages In Positive Territory After Yellen Remarks - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks saw some volatility as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen spoke at an event at Harvard University on Friday, but the major averages are currently all in positive territory as the trading day winds down.

The Dow is up 27.26 points or 0.2 percent at 17,855.55, the Nasdaq is up 24.12 points or 0.5 percent at 4,925.89 and the S&P 500 is up 5.74 points or 0.3 percent at 2,095.84.

During a conversation with Harvard Professor Gregory Mankiw, Yellen said she expects the economy to continue to improve and said it may be appropriate for the Fed to raise interest rates in the coming months.

"I think for the Fed to gradually and cautiously increase our overnight interest over time and probably in the coming months, such a move would be appropriate," Yellen said.

The Fed Chief also said she expects inflation to move back up to the central bank's 2 percent objective as crude oil prices have steadied near $50 a barrel after plunging to $26 a barrel earlier in the year.

Most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day, although considerable strength is visible among electronic storage stocks.

Reflecting the strength in the storage sector, the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index is up by 2.8 percent, on pace to end the session at its best closing level in a month.

On the other hand, gold stocks have fallen sharply, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.7 percent. The weakness in the sector comes as the price of gold has fallen to a three-month low.