US pre-open: Stocks seen lower as oil slips; eyes on Yellen

US futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street following healthy gains in the previous session, as the oil price rally lost steam and investors looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

At 1230 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all down 0.4%.

Stocks ended Wednesday’s session in the black on firming oil prices and after the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed that policymakers discussed the possibility of a rate hike in April but the overall consensus was that the risks from a global economic slowdown meant a cautious approach was needed.

At the same time, oil prices reversed course, with West Texas Intermediate down 0.2% to $37.68 a barrel and Brent crude down 0.1% to $39.82.

Prices were boosted on Wednesday after data from the Energy Information Administration showed a surprise draw in US inventories. They fell by 4.9m barrels last week, versus expectations for a 3.3m increase.

However, they were back under pressure again after an official from the state-run South Oil Company in Iraq said exports from the country’s southern ports have risen to an average of 3.494m barrels per day in April from 3.286m in March.

In currency markets, the dollar tumbled against the yen, which gained ground against its major rivals amid expectations that the Bank of Japan will not intervene to support the currency.

The dollar was down 1.3% against the yen, and flat against the pound and the euro.

In corporate news, Sprint Corp rose in pre-market trade after announcing late on Wednesday that it entered into a network leaseback deal with a number of bankruptcy-remote entities.

Drugstore chain Rite Aid nudged higher after posting better-than-expected fourth quarter profit.

On the downside, shares in Pacific Sunwear tumbled after the retailer filed for bankruptcy protection.

On the data front, investors will eye the release of US initial jobless claims at 1330 BST.

Elsewhere, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold conversations with former chairmen Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan at the International House in New York City later in the day.

“It’s not clear exactly how much they will discuss current monetary policy or the possible path of it going forward but should they touch on this then the markets cold work themselves up into a bit of a frenzy,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.