Stock Futures Higher In The Wake Of Yellen's Comments

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.