Wall Street turned on ahead of Yellen’s speech at Jackson Hole

Wall Street stock futures pointed to a higher open in pre-session hours on Friday, as market participants prepared for key speeches from central bankers at the Jackson Hole symposium.

Traders will be paying close attention to remarks from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen at 14:00 GMT and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at 19:00 GMT.

While there are expectations that these two central bankers will provide extra guidance on future plans for monetary policy, analysts suggested cautious positioning as it doesn’t seem the right time for regulators to unveil or announce high-impact policy-related changes.

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said on Thursday that the US economy was strong enough, suggesting more interest hikes could be on the way despite low inflation levels.

"While we haven't hit 2 percent, I'm reminded that 2 percent is a target over the long term, and in the context of a growing economy, of jobs being added, I don't think it's an issue that we should be particularly concerned about unless we see something change."

According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, investors are pricing in a 37.6 percent probability of a third Federal Reserve short-term rate hike by December. Expectations for a rate move came under pressure following the release of mixed FOMC minutes last week.

On Thursday, US equity indexes ended in red territory, with telecoms, consumer goods and consumer services weighing the most on them. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 28.7 points at 21,783.4, the S&P 500 dropped 0.2 percent to end at 2,438.97 and the Nasdaq composite retreated 0.1 percent to 6,271.33.

In economic news, the National Associations of Realtors reported a 1.3 percent draw in existing home sales in July, against expectations for a 0.9 percent build. The Labor Department said people claiming for unemployment benefits moved to a seasonally adjusted 234,000.

In a light day for data, the only relevant report will be durable goods orders for July, which is scheduled for release at 12:30 GMT. Also, oil traders will pay attention to Baker Hughes weekly oil rig count. Last week, the number of oil rigs operating in US soil dropped by three units.

Fort Financial Services