Stocks May Open Flat As Yellen Speech Looms - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - With traders waiting on a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, stocks may initially show a lack of direction on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by just 2 points.

The early focus of the markets will be on Yellen's speech at the Kansas City Fed's monetary policy symposium, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Traders are likely to pay close attention to Yellen's remarks for clues about the outlook for interest rates and the possibility of a near-term rate hike.

However, analysts have noted the speech entitled "Designing Resilient Monetary Policy Frameworks for the Future" may focus more on the long-term.

"Traders are, as always, hoping to be able to decipher the path for U.S. monetary policy," said Accendo Markets analysts Mike van Dulken and Augustin Eden. "They may be left wanting. Again."

The Fed chief's speech is likely to overshadow a recently released report from the Commerce Department showing a slight downward revision to the pace of U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.

The report said gross domestic product increased by 1.1 percent in the second quarter, reflecting a downward revision compared to the originally reported 1.2 percent growth. The revision matched economist estimates.

The downwardly revised GDP growth in the second quarter still reflects an acceleration from the 0.8 percent increase seen in the first quarter.

The University of Michigan is also due to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of August. The consumer sentiment index is expected to be upwardly revised to 90.7 from 90.4.

Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before eventually ending the day modestly lower. With the drop on the day, the major averages added to the losses posted on Wednesday.

The major averages ended the day in negative territory but off their worst levels. The Dow dipped 33.07 points or 0.2 percent to 18,448.41, the Nasdaq edged down 5.49 points or 0.1 percent to 5,212.20 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.97 points or 0.1 percent to 2,172.47.

In overseas trading, the lackluster mood continued in the Asia-Pacific region, leading to another mixed close. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.2 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.4 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is just below the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.01 to $47.32 a barrel after climbing $0.56 to $47.33 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold futures are currently trading at $1,331.50 an ounce, up $6.90 from the previous session's close of $1,324.60 an ounce. On Thursday, gold fell $5.10. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 100.23 yen compared to the 100.53 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1305 compared to yesterday's $1.1285.