Asian stocks bounce as Yellen flags Fed support for economy

(Reuters) - Asian stocks bounced from six-week lows on Thursday, spurred by Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen's dovish comments which suggested the U.S. economy could count on stimulus support for a longer period than markets anticipate.

Yellen, in remarks released ahead of her closely-watched Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday to succeed Fed chief Ben Bernanke, said the Fed has "more work to do" to help the economy, indicating she was in no hurry to start tapering stimulus.

Dow, S&P end at record highs on Macy's, Yellen

(Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 ended at record highs on Wednesday as strong results from Macy's (M.N) lifted consumer discretionary shares and investors bought stocks in anticipation of remarks by Janet Yellen, who is likely to become the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve.

U.S. stock index futures rose to session highs after the bell following the release of Yellen's introductory remarks, ahead of her confirmation hearing on Thursday to succeed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. Yellen, who is the Fed's vice chair, will appear before the Senate Banking Committee.

Morning All.

Morning all. Thanks Greystone and skinny.

Opening Market Overview

GBP Retail Sales m/m -0.7% 0.0% 0.6%

Welcome back, Skinny, and many thanks.
I hope you're going long this time.

Midday Market Overview

CAD Trade Balance -0.4B -1.2B -1.3B

USD Trade Balance -41.8B -38.7B -38.8B

USD Unemployment Claims 339K 331K 336K

USD Prelim Nonfarm Productivity q/q 1.9% 1.3% 2.3%

USD Prelim Unit Labor Costs q/q -0.6% 1.1% 0.0%

End-of-day Market Overview