Stocks Close Slightly Lower Ahead Of Yellen Speech - U.S. Commentary
S tocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before eventually ending the day modestly lower. With the drop on the day, the major averages added to the losses posted in the previous session. The major averages ended the day in negative territory but off their worst levels. The Dow dipped 33.07 points or 0.2 percent to 18,448.41, the Nasdaq edged down 5.49 points or 0.1 percent to 5,212.20 and the S&P 500 slipped 2.97 points or 0.1 percent to 2,172.47. The lackluster performance seen for much of the session came as traders continued to look ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday. However, analysts have noted the speech entitled "Designing Resilient Monetary Policy Frameworks for the Future" may focus more on the long-term. "Traders are, as always, hoping to be able to decipher the path for U.S. monetary policy," said Accendo Markets analysts Mike van Dulken and Augustin Eden . "The
