Stock Futures Dip in Wait for Rate Hike Comments From Fed's Yellen

New York (Mar 3)  Stock futures were trending lower on Friday morning as investors played it safe ahead of an afternoon speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.15%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 0.04%, and Nasdaq futures fell 0.18%.

Stocks moved further from records on Thursday as relief over President Donald Trump's on-message speech to Congress on Tuesday began to fade, replaced by questions as to how he will execute his promises. Trump has been light on details for tax and health care reform and changes to the budget since his election in November.

Caterpillar (CAT) shares also dragged on markets after news broke that federal agents were searching its offices.

Yellen will deliver the week's most important comments in an address at the Executives' Club of Chicago this afternoon. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer will also speak on Friday, delivering the keynote speech at the 2017 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum.

A turn toward a more hawkish Fed in recent months has raised the prospects of a move in March and boosted Wall Street's confidence in the economy. Fed minutes from the January-February meeting said another rate hike would come "fairly soon." The Federal Open Market Committee, the group that decides when interest rates will move, next meets from March 14 to 15.

"The market is beginning to take Fed officials for their word regarding the possibility of a March rate hike," said Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Fixed Income. "A number of Fed officials, including Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker and Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart, have suggested March is a "live" meeting but market odds have remained lackluster, at least until now."

Source: TheStreet