By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
U.S. stock futures showed little change Friday, as investors
waited for a speech from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen
and a report on consumer prices ahead of a long holiday weekend,
which could make for a quiet day of trade.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) rose 10
points to 18,268, while those for the S&P 500 index (ESM5)
eased 0.5 point to 2,127.50. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index
(NQM5) rose 2.5 points to 4,531.25.
Wall Street stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-squeezed-ahead-of-data-deluge-2015-05-21),
sending the S&P 500 (SPX) to a fresh record, but the big
indexes continued to trade in narrow ranges. Read more on
Thursday's action
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-squeezed-ahead-of-data-deluge-2015-05-21)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-squeezed-ahead-of-data-deluge-2015-05-21)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-squeezed-ahead-of-data-deluge-2015-05-21)As
long as bond yields are moving sideways or lower, equity investors
are "happy putting money to work," said Chris Weston, chief market
strategist at IG, in a note. He added that the CBOE Volatility
index (VIX) is testing the year's lows around 12.11%, and is now
33% below the five-year average.
"It's no coincidence then that we are back to hearing the
repetitive calls of the S&P 500 making a new all-time high,"
said Weston.
Friday could remain a quiet day for Wall Street if many traders
take off early for the Memorial Day holiday, which will see markets
closed on Monday.
But before the market empties out, a couple of events will be
worth watching. Data on consumer prices is coming at 8:30 a.m.
Eastern Time. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect a gain of
0.1% for April, versus a 0.2% rise in March. Fed chief Yellen will
give a speech on the economic outlook to the Greater Providence
Chamber of Commerce at 1 p.m. Eastern. Read a preview
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-consumers-are-so-cautious-2015-05-19)
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-consumers-are-so-cautious-2015-05-19)Stocks
to watch: Shares of Deere & Co.(DE) are up 1.7% in premarket
after financial results. Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) results are still
to come.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co.(HPQ) could edge up after earnings
squeezed past forecasts late Thursday, but the company also
provided a cautious outlook.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (MRVL) could see pressure. The
chip maker fell more than 2% late Thursday after saying its
financial chief will retire.
Other markets: European stocks were trading slightly lower,
while Asia stocks rose with the Shanghai Composite Index
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-shares-hit-seven-year-high-2015-05-21)
marking its best performance since 2008.
Oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-holds-onto-recent-gains-wti-trades-above-60-a-barrel-2015-05-22)(CLN5)
stayed above $60 a barrel, but fell around 1%, while gold prices
(GCM5) gained. The dollar
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-slips-against-yen-as-investors-await-boj-kuroda-remarks-2015-05-22)
drifted lower against the yen (USDJPY).
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