By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures slipped Friday before
Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was set to take center
stage at a high-profile gathering of the world's central
bankers.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) were off 3
points at 17,013, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4) shed
1 point to 1,988.30. Nasdaq 100 index (NDU4) futures gave up 1.8
points at 4,045.75.
Barring a Friday shakeup, the major benchmarks are on track to
log weekly advances of at least 1.5% each. Thursday's session ended
with the S&P 500 Index (SPX) marking its 28th record close this
year and the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF)ending at its highest level
since March 31, 2000.
Journey to Jackson Hole: Yellen, at her speech at the annual
gathering of central bankers in Wyo., is expected to focus on the
labor market. Her remarks are slated to begin at 10 a.m. Eastern
Time. Yellen has previously outlined the lineup of indicators she's
watching to gauge the health of the labor market, including wages
and the number of people working part time who want to work
full-time.
The "hawkish noises coming out of the recent [Fed] meeting
minutes will add extra spice to what Yellen has to say," said
Richard Perry, market analyst at Hantec Markets, in a Friday note.
"It would be surprising if she did anything other than hold a
steady ship and that the Fed will maintain an accommodative
monetary policy for a considerable period of time."
Minutes of the Fed's meeting in July, released this week, showed
senior officials are becoming increasingly divided on how fast the
labor market is improving. But many Fed policy makers believe more
improvement is needed before they begin raising interest rates.
Several regional Fed presidents, including San Francisco Fed
President John Williams and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard,
will offer their own views on the outlook of monetary policy.
Also set to speak Friday is European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi. Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda was expected to
address reporters.
There are no major economic reports on Friday's schedule.
Stocks to watch: Ahead of the bell, Foot Locker (FL) shares
jumped 4.2% after the athletic shoe retailer's second-quarter
results came in better than Wall Street anticipated.
Women's apparel retailer Ann (ANN) posted second-quarter
earnings and sales that topped analysts expectations.
Apple (AAPL) shares shed 0.3% before the regular session. The
company's suppliers are struggling to get enough screens ready for
the launch of the bigger-screened iPhone 6 next month, according to
a report by Reuters, citing unnamed sources.
Ross Stores (ROST) gained 4.8% before the bell as second-quarter
earnings at the discounter rose 12%. Ross also raised its full-year
earnings projection.
Aéropostale (ARO) shares dropped 9% before the bell after the
clothing retailer's forecast a wider-than-expected loss for the
fiscal third quarter.
GameStop (GME) shares climbed 6.9% premarket after the videogame
retailer's third-quarter earnings forecast outpaced estimates.
(Read more about the day's big movers here
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gamestop-soars-aeropostale-sinks-foot-locker-reports-earnings-friday-2014-08-21.)
Other markets: Oil futures (CLV4) slipped and gold futures
(GCZ4) edged up. In Asia overnight, Japan's Nikkei Average broke a
nine-session winning streak, and in Europe, the Stoxx 600 was
modestly lower.
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