US open: Stocks retreat after Thursday's Fed rate gains

US stocks retreated on Friday after yesterday’s gains when Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen implied a rate hike in December, while the green back surged.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.02% to 18,899.27 points, the S&P 500 fell 0.04% to 2,186.27 points, and the Nasdaq declined 0.03% to 5,332.39 points at 1517 GMT.

Speaking before the joint economic committee in Congress on Thursday, Yellen said the central bank could move rates “relatively soon”.

“The Dow Jones ended up starting the session effectively flat at 18,900, a level it has struggled to substantially build upon since surging to all-time highs in the aftermath of the election”, Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex said.

“Friday has seen the greenback continue to dine out on Thursday’s rate rise-suggesting double whammy, first the testimony from Janet Yellen that claimed the Fed could act ‘relatively soon’, then a rising inflation figure that seemed to support what the central banker’s need for supportive data. This has helped the dollar take 0.7% back of the pound, pushing it back below $1.235 in the process, and 0.3% off the euro, marking a record breaking 10th consecutive losing streak for the continental coinage”

The dollar climbed 0.31% against the yen to 110.46, was higher by 0.62% versus sterling to 0.8103 and up 0.22% against the euro to 0.9433.

In commodity markets, gold on Comex decreased by 0.36% to $1212.50 per troy ounce at 1455 GMT.

Oil prices jumped as investors continued to monitor the ongoing OPEC ‘will they, won't they’ saga of capping production. Iraq's oil minister said he was “optimistic” that the cartel would reach an agreement at its next meeting on 30 November.

Brent crude was up 0.51% to $46.73 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.5% to $45.65 at 1505 GMT.

In corporate news, Abercrombie & Fitch shares plunged 12.93% after the fashion house warned of a challenging fourth quarter.

Third quarter sales fell 6.5% to $821.73m, below expectations of $830.6m, while income was down to $7.88m, or 12 cents per share from $41.89m, or 60 cents last year.

Whereas Foot Locker’s shares rose 1.11% as the shoe retailer beat third quarter expectations. Earnings rose to $157m, or $1.17 a share from $80m, or 57 cents last year, beating forecasts of $1.10.

Salesforce surged 3.9% after its third-quarter results late on Thursday beat expectations, but Applied Materials slipped 0.49% after it posted lower-than-expected sales for the fourth quarter.