The Business Times

US: Stocks flat ahead of Yellen testimony

Published Tue, Jul 11, 2017 · 02:21 PM

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks treaded water early Tuesday ahead of the always closely-watched congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

Ms Yellen, appearing in a semi-annual hearing on Wednesday, is due to update lawmakers on the state of the US economy and the likelihood of additional moves to tighten monetary policy in light of the improving labor market but still mild inflation.

Meanwhile, analysts have seen lofty stock valuations as a challenge for further appreciation in equities.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 21,409.14, up less than 0.1 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 2,424.37, as did the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index which was down to 6,170.69.

PepsiCo lost 1.3 per cent after reporting a five percent rise in second-quarter earnings to US$2.1 billion. Revenues rose two percent to US$15.7 billion.

Department store JC Penney dipped 0.2 per cent as it announced chief financial officer Edward Record was stepping down.

Snap, the parent of photo messaging app Snapchat, dropped 4.9 per cent following a downgrade from Morgan Stanley.

AFP

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