US: Wall Street opens flat ahead of Powell speech

US STOCK indexes opened flat on Wednesday (Nov 30) ahead of comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell that will be closely watched for signs of a slowdown in the pace of interest rate hikes by the central bank.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 0.45 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 3,957.18, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 11.42 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 10,995.20 at the opening bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.10 points, or 0.17 per cent, at the open to 33,795.43. REUTERS