U.S. stock futures inch higher ahead of key Yellen speech

U.S. stocks were on track for a fifth straight day of gains on Wednesday, with futures inching higher ahead of closely watched testimony from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that could provide further clues on the timing of the first rate hike.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU5, +0.09% nudged 8 points higher to 17,969, while those for the S&P 500 index ESU5, +0.08% gained 1.15 points, or 0.1%, to 2,103.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NQU5, +0.22% added 7 points, or 0.2%, to 4,524.50.

“Janet Yellen’s appearance before Congress for her semi-annual monetary policy report is pivotal for markets,” said Rebecca O’Keeffe, head of investment at stockbroker Interactive Investor, in a note.

“Greece had been a key obstacle which might have prevented the Fed from actively considering imminent U.S. interest rate rises. With this problem now close to resolution, the path has been cleared for the Federal Reserve to raise rates sooner,” she added. Read: There’s limited scope for Yellen to move markets with Hill appearance

Yellen will give her semi-annual speech about the central bank’s economic outlook to the House Financial Services Committee at 10 a.m. Eastern, with the testimony released publicly at 8:30 a.m. She’ll address the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

A weak reading on June retail sales out on Tuesday fueled speculation the Fed may delay its first rate hike, helping to send the main stock averages higher for a fourth straight day.

Wednesday’s key economic news: Aside from Yellen’s appearance before the House committee, investors face a packed data calendar on Wednesday.

At 8:30 a.m., the Empire State manufacturing index for July is due, forecast to climb to 4 from a negative reading of 2 in June. At the same time, the producer price index for June is released. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect a print of 0.2%, down from 0.5% in May, while core PPI is predicted to stay at 0.1%.

Industrial production for last month comes out a 9:15 a.m. and should show a 0.1% rise, according to estimates, compared with a 0.2% fall in May.

Capacity utilization is also due at 9:15 a.m. Read: Wall Street is in for a roller-coaster ride of a session Wednesday

Earnings ahead: Financial reports from the banking sector continue on Wednesday, with Bank of America Corp. BAC, +0.65% forecast to report second-quarter earnings of 36 cents a share ahead of the bell, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The bank is among the stocks that Morgan Stanley is upbeat on ahead of its earnings report.

Also premarket, Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, +0.67% is projected to report second-quarter earnings of $1.21 a share, up from $1.04 a share a year ago, while BlackRock Inc. BLK, -0.44% is forecast to report second-quarter earnings of $4.80 a share, down from $4.89 a share a year earlier.

And after the market closes, Intel Corp. INTC, -0.27% and Netflix Inc. NFLX, -0.71% are slated to report.

Movers and shakers: Shares of Celgene Corp. CELG, +1.62% pushed 5.3% higher premarket after news late Tuesday that the biotech company is buying Receptos Inc. RCPT, +5.11% Receptos shares surged 10%.

Yum! Brands Inc. YUM, +0.97% could also be active after the fast food company late Tuesday reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 69 cents a share on sales of $3.1 billion.

Other markets: European stock markets struggled for direction as investors waited for Greece’s parliament to vote on the bailout deal for the country.

Asia markets closed mixed, with Chinese shares ending in the red despite a strong report on economic growth.

Oil futures declined CLQ5, -0.98% while metals traded mixed. The ICE dollar index DXY, -0.01% was slightly lower, as the greenback fluctuated against other major currencies.