By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Freeport-McMoRan, GameStop among day's big movers

The Dow was struggling to find direction in late-morning trade Friday as Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer on CNBC said the economy is "working pretty well," and indicated that the central bank is moving toward raising rates.

The Dow briefly ticked higher after the Fed No. 2's comments but slipped lower later. The S&P 500 also slipped into the red as did the Nasdaq later in the session.

Hand-wringing around when the Fed will hike rates has been one of the driving forces of stock-market uncertainty, along with China's troubled economy.

Although Fischer's comments didn't provide much clarity on the Fed's game plan for rates, stocks appeared to interpret his comments as pro rate hike.

Still, stocks look to end one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent memory with modest gains. They are in negative territory for the year after a plunge on Monday sent them into correction territory.

"The magnitude of the drop on Monday caught a lot of investors off guard and they are still struggling to find what the fair value is for stocks, which is why we are continuing to see heightened volatility," said Channing Smith, portfolio manager at Capital Advisors.

The S&P 500 dipped in and out of negative territory, trading virtually flat at 1,986. Most of the 10 main sectors were lower, but losses were modest. The energy sector rallied following a big jump in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 45 points, or 0.3%, to 16,609. The Nasdaq Composite ruenwd

edged higher, adding 3 points, or 0.1%, to 4,815. The Russell 2000 also edged higher, climbing 8 points, or 0.7%, to 1,161.

Earlier in the session, market reaction to consumer spending and inflation (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/core-inflation-eases-in-july-and-moves-further-away-from-feds-target-2015-08-28), both of which ticked up less than expected, was largely muted. Inflation, which has remained below the Federal Reserve's target, is likely to influence policy makers's decision over the rate increases this year.

Investors will look to take their cues from Federal Reserve officials, who are attending the closely watched Jackson Hole summit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/central-bankers-at-jackson-hole-search-for-answers-on-low-inflation-2015-08-27).

Opinion: A surefire strategy to keep calm and make some money in this crazy market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-surefire-strategy-to-keep-calm-and-make-money-in-this-crazy-market-2015-08-27)

The sharp rebound on Wall Street over the previous two sessions came as investors took comfort from signs China was trying to stabilize its economy and market, and from upbeat U.S. growth data.

"Current markets can be described as 'no man's land', where volatility is uncomfortable and credit spreads have widened. We expect volatility to continue for the next six weeks or so, but we are not seeing conditions for a bear market," said Smith.

Investors also kept a close eye on crude prices Friday, which jumped more than 4%. WTI crude for October swung between gains and losses after surging more than 10% on Thursday, driven higher by a report that Venezuela asked the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold an emergency meeting.

Jackson Hole summit: Another potential reason for investor caution is the Jackson Hole central bankers' summit in Wyoming on Friday and Saturday, where key Federal Reserve speakers are due to appear: Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer will talk about inflation developments on Saturday, with Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard to follow later. Here's a schedule of the speakers (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fischer-carney-to-headline-jackson-hole-summit-2015-08-27).

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fischer-carney-to-headline-jackson-hole-summit-2015-08-27)The meeting comes after days of financial-market turmoil have driven some investors to shift their expectations for a U.S. interest-rate hike to December from September.

Opinion: Stocks climbing strongest 'wall of worry' in five years (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-climbing-strongest-wall-of-worry-in-five-years-2015-08-28)

Economic data:Core inflation moderated in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/core-inflation-eases-in-july-and-moves-further-away-from-feds-target-2015-08-28), the government reported Friday, giving the Federal Reserve another reason to hold short-term interest rates steady at their September policy meeting.

Stocks to watch: Share of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) jumped 7.5%. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn disclosed a stake in the miner late Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carl-icahn-discloses-stake-in-freeport-mcmoran-may-seek-board-seat-2015-08-27), saying the company's shares are undervalued, according to a filing.

GameStop Corp. (GME) shares plunged 8% following a very bearish analyst note and downgrade on the company's stock by Benchmark.

Chinese gains tempered:The Shanghai Composite Index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-ride-tide-of-strong-us-growth-2015-08-28), which has been heavily influential at times for global equities this week, climbed 5.4%. Analysts voiced suspicions on Friday the government was buying stocks to boost the index, which ended a roller-coaster week down 8%.

European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/europe-stocks-pull-back-as-volatile-week-nears-an-end-2015-08-28) wavered on Friday, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index down 0.4% and set for a small loss to end the week. Gold prices rose marginally, while the dollar held largely steady.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 28, 2015 12:03 ET (16:03 GMT)

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