US pre-open: Stocks seen flat as investors eye Yellen speech

US futures pointed to a muted open on Wall Street on Monday as investors looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and kept an eye on developments between the US and Russia after last week's missile strikes on Syria.

At 1220 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all flat.

Meanwhile, oil prices rallied following another shutdown at Libya's Sharara oilfield and growing concerns over Syria after the US missile strike. West Texas Intermediate was up 0.7% to $52.61 a barrel and Brent crude was 0.8% firmer at $55.70.

Think Markets analyst Naeem Aslam said: "Now that the US non-farm payroll is over, traders are going to put their focus back on the Fed, which has been talking about winding down their balance sheet. The Fed needs to be very careful in their approach of conveying their message while they release their purchased bonds back on the market.

"The Fed chairwoman, Janet Yellen will be speaking later today. The focus will be towards her comments after the US NFP data. Despite the feeble headline number, the data confirmed that the jobs number is supporting the US economic growth of 2% for this year. How hawkish or dovish Miss Yellen will be on the back of this will matter for the dollar. The headline inflation number is going to keep Yellen up at night. We believe inflation could continue to move higher due to higher energy prices. However, the market would focus more on the core inflation, not the headline."

Yellen is due to take part in a Q&A session at the University of Michigan at 2120 BST.

A special session of the Group of 7 industrialised nations in Lucca, Italy, will also be in focus, with foreign ministers set to discuss the situation in Syria.

In corporate news, Delta Air Lines shares could be active after a string of cancellations and delays.

Mondelez International nudged higher in pre-market trade following reports it is set to look for a successor to chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld.

Software company Okta Inc could be in focus after the shares surged in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.