U.S. stocks opened a touch higher on Friday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen at the annual economic retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The highly anticipated symposium will be closely followed for hints on the central bank’s outlook for monetary policy. Ahead of Yellen’s speech, a second estimate of second-quarter gross domestic product underscored that the U.S. economy is muddling along, growing at a 1.1% pace. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 50 points, or 0.3%, at 18,499, the S&P 500 index advanced 6 points, or 0.3%, at 2,178, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 12 points, or 0.2%, to 5,224. In corporate news, shares of Herbalife Ltd. were in the spotlight after a report from The Wall Street Journal indicated that Carl Icahn considered selling his 18% stake in nutritional supplement company to a group, including the company’s arch-nemesis and shortseller, Bill Ackman.
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