US open: Stocks mostly lower ahead of Yellen's Jackson Hole speech

US stocks were mostly lower on Monday as investors weighed hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve policymakers ahead of a speech by chair Janet Yellen later this week.

At 1518 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09% to 18,539.97 points, the S&P 500 decreased 0.04% to 2,182.96 points while the Nasdaq rose 0.15%.

Oil prices were under pressure as on news that Iraq – OPEC’s second-biggest oil producer – will boost its oil exports by 5%. A stronger dollar and a jump in the Baker Hughes US oil-rig count also weighed on prices.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.6% to $47.85 per barrel and Brent crude slid 2.8% to $49.48 per barrel at 1521 BST.

Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said: “Much of the week will likely be gearing up for the main event, which comes in the form of the annual Jackson Hole meeting, hosted by the Kansas Fed. Crucially, Friday will see Janet Yellen take the same stand upon which Ben Bernanke announced quantitative easing back in 2012, with markets hoping for another game changing nugget on Friday.

“The recent deterioration in the greenback means that many are looking for a dollar bounce back, which coupled with the speculation of Friday’s meeting, means that dollar volatility is likely to be heightened this week.”

Oanda’s Craig Erlam said Yellen’s speech would be a great opportunity to send a clear and concise message to investors.

“The markets currently have March priced in for the next rate hike and if Yellen is seriously determined to move earlier, she must take advantage of Friday’s opportunity to drive that message home,” he said.

Her speech follows hawkish comments from several Federal Reserve officials last week. Most recent, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer on Sunday gave an upbeat assessment of the US economy, which was seen to suggest an interest rate hike was possible this year. His statement pushed the dollar higher.

Elsewhere, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said he would not rule out another interest rate cut if needed.

In an interview with the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, published Saturday, Kuroda said, "Based on our comprehensive assessment, there is a fair amount of possibility that we will conduct additional measures without hesitation, if necessary."

Analysts expect he will expand further on monetary policy at a speech on Tuesday at the BoJ’s Fintech Conference.

On the corporate front, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer shares nudged higher after confirming it will buy biotech firm Medivation Inc.for about $14bn.