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After the recent inertia on a Fed rate rise the potential for a hike is still on for this year chair Janet Yellen told a speech after market close on Thursday.
It sent US futures trading significantly upwards after the gloom of yesterday with Wall Street shares set to open well up.
The benchmark Dow closed down 79 points at 16201 on Thursday not aided by machinery and equipment giant Caterpillar () which said it expected revenue to fall for the third straight year in 2015 to US$48bn.
Today Dow futures are trading 88 points to the good but had surged 200 points higher. The Nasdaq closed out at 4734 - down 19 points - but is up 19.5 in futures.
The broader based S&P500 closed down seven points at 1932 but is tipped to start around eight points higher.
A week after saying it was not the right time Yellen said last night that the Fed was not planning to wait much longer to raise rates barring unpleasant surprises.
The Labour market is continuing to improve and the Fed expects inflation to follow she said at the University of Massachusetts. The 23 page speech left her dehydrated and she faltered her words at times reportedly but after medical attention she continued her Thursday night schedule.
She did also say however .." if the economy surprises us our judgments about appropriate monetary policy will change."
Tech giant () is likely to be in focus today as its iPhone 6s and 6s Plus phones become available around the globe today and the saga of car manufacturer Volkswagen continues with the naming of a new CEO on the cards.
The front-runner is reportedly Porsche chief executive Matthias Mueller.
Shares in sportswear maker Nike () shot higher in pre-market trading following better-than-expected earnings.
Shares went over 8% higher to US$124.20 as earnings per share (EPS) for the three months to the end of August showed a 23% increase on the corresponding 2014 quarter's figure of US$1.09.
Revenue rose 5% to US$8.41bn from US$7.98bn the year before and was ahead of market forecasts of US$8.21bn.
Also in focus is the imminent results of Canada listed phone giant BlackBerry (TSX:BB) which will post second quarter numbers before the bell.
Analysts expect another small loss and disappointing revenue as the firm continues to make job cuts.
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