The topic of the U.S. Federal Reserve has been put back on the table this week, after the Federal Open Market Committee released its latest set of minutes from its September meeting on Wednesday.
While the central bank didn't raise interest rates last month, those members who were in favor on hiking rates believed that waiting too long could push the U.S. into a recession .
Following the release, attention will now shift to speeches from key Fed officials. The main speech investors will be looking to is that of Fed Chair Janet Yellen's speech, due at 1.30 p.m. ET.
Yellen will be speaking at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's 60th economic conference, which is titled "The Elusive 'Great' Recovery: Causes and Implications for Future Business Cycle Dynamics". Aside from Yellen, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren will also be speaking at the conference.
On the earnings front, Citigroup (NYSE:C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are set to cause a stir on Wall Street, as they release their latest financial reports. PNC Financial Services Group (PNC) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported results, beating on both the top and bottom lines.
A whole host of data is set to be released on Friday, with PPI and retail sales due out at 8.30 a.m. ET. Business inventories and consumer sentiment data are also due at 10.00 a.m. ET.
Elsewhere, oil has been a major mover and shaker of markets this week, with prices fluctuating between gains and losses as talk around a possible output cut by OPEC shakes up sentiment. On Friday, oil prices pointed higher, boosted by a fall in U.S. fuel inventories.
Around 7 a.m. ET, U.S. WTI stood around $50.99 per barrel, while Brent hovered around $52.41.
European stocks posted gains in morning trade, while Asia-Pacific indexes closed mostly higher overnight. In the previous session, U.S. stocks slashed most of their losses , however closed in the red.
By CNBC.
Culled from Yahoo News.
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