Stocks May Move Modestly Higher Ahead Of Yellen Remarks - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session roughly flat, stocks may move to the upside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 11 points.

The markets may benefit from the upward momentum seen earlier this week, which helped the major averages recover from their lowest levels in about two months.

Trading activity is likely to be relatively subdued, however, as traders look ahead to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

At 1:15 pm ET, Yellen is scheduled to speak with Harvard Professor Gregory Mankiw and receive an award from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Traders are likely to closely scrutinize Yellen's remarks for any hints regarding whether the Fed intends to raise interest rates at its meeting next month.

Some traders are also likely to look to get a head start on the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, potentially leading to another choppy trading day.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department recently released a report showing an upward revision to the pace of economic growth in the first quarter.

The report said the pace of growth in gross domestic product was upwardly revised to 0.8 percent from the initial estimate of 0.5 percent.

Nonetheless, the revised GDP growth in the first quarter compares to the 1.4 percent jump seen in the fourth quarter and the 0.9 percent increase expected by economists.

Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised report on consumer sentiment in the month of May.

The consumer sentiment index is expected to be downwardly revised to 95.5 from the mid-month reading of 95.8, which represented an eleven-month high.

Among individual stocks, shares of Relypsa (RLYP) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the FDA rejected AstraZeneca's (AZN) competing potassium-lowering drug.

Discount retailer Big Lots (BIG) is also likely to see early strength after reporting better than expected first quarter results and raising its full-year earnings forecast.

On the other hand, shares of GameStop (GME) may come under pressure after the video game retailer reported first quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but provided disappointing guidance.

After moving sharply higher over the course of the two previous sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Thursday. Despite the lackluster performance, the tech-heavy Nasdaq crept up to its best closing level in over a month.

The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Nasdaq inched up 6.88 points or 0.1 percent to 4,901.77, the Dow slipped 23.22 points or 0.1 percent to 17,828.29 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.44 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,090.10.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a lackluster performance on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.31 to $49.17 a barrel after slipping $0.08 to $49.48 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold futures for August delivery are currently trading at $1,223.10 an ounce, up $0.40 from the previous session's close of $1,222.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 109.58 yen compared to the 109.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1167 compared to yesterday's $1.1194.