US stocks cautious during opening trade, focus remains on Yellen

After yesterday's corrective slide, the US stock markets witnessed a muted opening on the last trading day of the week as investors keenly await Fedspeaks.

Against the backdrop of recent hawkish comments from various Fed officials, today's speech by the Fed Chair Janet Yellen, and other key FOMC members, would be scrutinized for confirmation of an eventual rate-hike move at the central bank's upcoming monetary policy meeting on March 14-15.

At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22-points to 21,025, while the broader S&P 500 Index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index remained absolutely flat at yesterday’s closing level near 2,382 and 5,862 respectively.

Today's subdued action follows a sharp decline on Thursday, led by a slide in financial shares that dragged DJIA back closer to 21,000 mark.

In other markets, the key US Dollar Index extended its retracement from yesterday's seven week highs and dipped below the 102.00 handle ahead of today's key event.