(As of 7:15 am PST)
US stocks are see-sawing
between mild gains and losses Friday as investors prepared for remarks from Fed
Chairwoman, Janet Yellen ahead of the three day holiday weekend. Data is light
today with a lone report on consumer prices showing prices picked up in
April. The Labor Department announced
Friday that US core prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in April, while core
CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy sectors, rose 0.3%. The
increase in prices was higher than expected causing some to speculate that the
pick-up in inflation may drive the Fed to consider raising rates sooner than
later. Once again, the timing of the Fed rate hike is unknown although remarks
made from Fed officials earlier in the week as well as the recent FOMC minutes
seem to indicate a June rate hike is unlikely. Speaking of the Fed, markets are
gearing up for this afternoon’s speech from Fed Chief Yellen at a conference in
Providence where she will be giving her outlook on the US economy. In
other news today, Asian markets headed into the weekend with strong gains while
Europe is looking to add to weekly gains seen across the board. Oil prices
slipped below $60 per barrel while gold is down slightly. Heading into Friday
the S&P500 was up +0.4% on the week, while the Nasdaq was up +0.99% and the
Dow up +0.1%. Expect a quiet day today as traders take off early for the
Memorial Day weekend.
***The US stock and bond
markets will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day. Have a safe and
happy holiday weekend.***
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