February 10, 2014- Stocks Look to Pause After Recent Gains

Caution is writ large on Wall Street after 2-days of upside amid the release of mixed earnings and economic data. The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Monday. Asian stocks closed mixed earlier in the global trading day, while the European averages have pared their gains, although they are holding above the unchanged line. With little corporate and economic news to sway the markets ahead of a flurry of Fed speeches scheduled to begin tomorrow, including Congressional testimony by the new Fed Chair Janet Yellen, the markets may go about in a directionless manner. The Dow futures are slipping 39 points, the S&P 500 futures are receding 5 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are moving down 4 points. U.S. stocks ended a roller coaster week ended February 7th on an upbeat note, as traders digested mixed batch of earnings and economic data. Several Fed speeches and a few consumer data along with the jobs and manufacturing data could dictate proceedings in the market in the unfolding week. Traders may closely focus on the Commerce Department's retail sales report for January, the Federal Reserve's industrial production report for January, preliminary consumer sentiment report compiled by Reuters and the University of Michigan and the regularly scheduled jobless claims data.