MN: UPDATE: U.S. stock futures on the sidelines ahead of Yellen, long weekend
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).
