On Wednesday U.S. stocks were on track for a fifth straight day of
gains, as stock futures climbed ahead of testimony
from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that could provide hints on the timing of the first interest-rate hike.
Yellen will give her semi-annual speech about the central bank’s
economic outlook to the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m.
EST. The testimony will be released publicly at 8:30 a.m.
On Thursday she is expected to address the Senate Banking Committee.
A weak data on June retail sales released yesterday drove speculation the central bank may delay its first rate hike. The speculation meanwhile sent the main stock averages higher for a fourth straight day.
Ahead of the speech, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 15
points, or 0.1%, to 17,976.
Those for the S&P 500 index gained 2.15 points, or 0.1%, to 2,104.25.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100
index added 9.75 points, or 0.2%, to 4,527.25.
Most analysts consider Janet Yellen's speech before Congress to be pivotal for markets.
Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, noted that Greece had represented a huge obstacle "which might have prevented the Fed from actively considering imminent U.S. interest-rate rises. With this problem now close to resolution, the path has been cleared for the Federal Reserve to raise rates sooner.”
