Advertisment
U.S. stock futures are steady ahead of the open and global markets are not making any major moves.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 16.6 points, or 0.1%, to 18,432, while futures for the S&P 500 slipped 1.5 points, or 0.1%, at 2,172. NASDAQ futures were off 5.5 points, or 0.1%, to 4,776.75.
Shares in ITT Educational Services could be on the move again Friday after dropping by 35% Thursday.
Investors pressed the sell button after the U.S. Department of Education announced it was banning the for-profit institution from enrolling new students using federal financial aid.
St. Jude Medical will be under intense scrutiny after hedge fund Muddy Waters claimed the medical device maker was selling devices that were vulnerable to hackers. Muddy Waters said it was shorting the St. Jude stock, which means it profits when shares fall.
Shares in the firm dropped 5% on Thursday. But St. Jude Medical rejected claims that the company's pacemakers and other lifesaving devices are vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Janet Yellen, the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve, will take the microphone at a major central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Investors are wondering: Will the Federal Reserve chief signal an interest rate rise is coming in the months ahead?
Yellen is speaking just 90 minutes after a new report on second-quarter GDP comes out.
It's widely expected that the U.S. economy grew by 1.1% compared to the same period last year. This would dash hopes for a more robust rebound from a slowdown at the start of the year.
Oil prices subsided four cents to $47.29 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices vaulted $6.10 to $1,330.70 U.S. an ounce.
