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Stock futures pushed higher on Friday, hours after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen maintained a dovish stance on interest rates in a speech late Thursday. “Investors are certainly cheering the news that she hasn’t picked up a particular set date to raise the interest rate, but she did balance her dovish tone by adding that the rate hike is still a possibility later this year,” wrote Naeem Aslam chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note to clients. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 88 points, or 0.6%, to 16,185, while those for the S&P 500 index gained 9.45 points, or 0.5%, to 1,928. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 19.25 points, or 0.5%, to 4,264.75. Gains for stock futures come after U.S. stocks closed lower for a third day on Thursday. Led by losses for Caterpillar Inc. , which slid 6%, the Dow industrials finished down 78.57 points, to 16,201.32, paring back an earlier 264-point drop.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen is fine and was simply dehydrated at the end of a lengthy speech, the Federal Reserve said Thursday evening. In a statement, the Fed said Yellen has continued with her schedule. Wire services reported that Yellen had received medical attention at the end of her speech at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Yellen appeared to fall ill at the end of her 23-page speech. She lost her place several times and struggled to finish. The Fed chairwoman did stay on stage after her speech to receive an award, and finally left under her own power.

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From:: Stock Market News

Reynolds American Inc. ticked slightly higher in the extended session Thursday following a report that Japan Tobacco Inc. was in talks to buy assets worth about $5 billion from the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based tobacco company. Reynolds American shares rose 1% to $42.54 in after-hours activity. Bloomberg News reported that Japan Tobacco was looking to acquire such Reynolds assets as the Natural American Spirit tobacco brand, according to people familiar with the talks.

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The dollar strengthened against its main rivals Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said most members of the central bank’s rate-setting committee still support an interest-rate increase this year. The euro fell to $1.1193 from $1.1230 before Yellen started speaking. The dollar rose to 120.22 yen from 120.00 yen beforehand. Speaking at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Yellen said she expects inflation will return to a 2% annual growth rate, the Fed’s target level, over the next few years as temporary factors like the strong dollar and low commodity prices wane.

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From:: Stock Market News

Bellerophon Therapeutics Inc. shares skyrocketed in the extended session Thursday after the tiny biotech reported a mid-stage clinical study showed its drug Inopulse benefitted patients with high blood pressure in arteries that connect the lungs to the heart. Bellerophon shares jumped 72% to $6.40. The company said early study data showed Inopulse provided a sustained benefit in patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Also, Bellerophon said the Food and Drug Administration declared that the company’s design and clinical endpoints for a planned late-stage clinical trial for the drug were acceptable.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Thursday that she believes it remains “appropriate” for the U.S. central bank to hike rates this year. In a speech at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Yellen said she expects inflation will return to 2% annual growth rate “over the next few years” as temporary factors holding it down wane. This forecast assumes economic growth remains strong and inflation expectations stay well anchored, Yellen said. “Most FOMC participants, including myself, currently anticipate that achieving these conditions will likely entail an initial increase in the federal funds rate later this year, followed by a gradual pace of tightening thereafter.” While the U.S. central bank is monitoring signs of weaker growth overseas, she does not think these effects will prove large enough “to have a significant path of the path of policy.”

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From:: Stock Market News

Amazon.com Inc. said on Thursday that it plans to launch its video streaming service, Amazon Instant Video, in Japan, along with its Fire TV stick and new Fire TV box. In addition to Amazon’s library of content, which includes Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning show “Transparent,” viewers will be able to stream popular Japanese series, and even content from rival services Netflix Inc. and Hulu, according to a news release. This moves comes on the heels of Netflix’s foray into the Japanese market as it plans to expand to 200 countries by the end of 2016.

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From:: Stock Market News

Pier 1 Imports Inc. shares fell in the extended session Thursday after the home decor and furniture retailer’s quarterly results and outlook fell short of Wall Street estimates. Pier 1 shares dropped 11% to $7.75. The company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $430 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 7 cents a share on revenue of $436 million. Pier 1 also forecast full-year earnings of 56 cents to 64 cents a share, while analysts had forecast a consensus 84 cents a share.

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From:: Stock Market News

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s stock slumped 2.6% in after-hours trade Thursday, after the home-furnishings retailer reported fiscal second-quarter same-store sales that missed expectations, which overshadowed a profit that was in line with forecasts and a new $2.5 billion stock repurchase program. For the quarter ended Aug. 29, earnings came in at $201.7 million, or $1.21 a share, compared with $224 million, or $1.17 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for per-share earnings of $1.21. Sales rose to $3 billion from $2.94 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $3.03 billion. Same-store sales increased 0.7% from a year ago, missing the FactSet consensus for 2.2% growth. For the fiscal third quarter, the company expects EPS of $1.14 to $1.21, surrounding the FactSet consensus of $1.19, and same-store sales growth of 1% to 3%, compared with expectations of a 2.6% rise. The stock has dropped 22% year to date through Thursday’s close, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 5.1% and the S&P 500 has declined 6.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Netflix Inc.’s stock has erased an earlier loss to trade sharply higher in afternoon trade Thursday, enough to put it near the top of the S&P 500’s gainers list. The stock surged 5.6%, after being down as much as 1.3% at its intraday low, which was hit within 10 minutes of the open. Earlier, Netflix announced on its tech blog that it worked with Facebook Inc.’s Oculus to develop an app for virtual-reality viewing on Samsung Gear VR. Netflix’s stock was currently the second-biggest percentage gainer within the S&P 500 , behind only the 8% jump in Newmont Mining Corp.’s shares.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News