US stocks mixed during opening trade as investors await Yellen speech

Major US equity indices traded mixed during early hour of trading on Wednesday as investors look forward to a speech from the Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

At the time of reporting, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off over 50-points to 19,777, while the broader S&P 500 Index was flat at 2,267. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed the broader indices and gained around 9-points to 5,548.

Market gained little support from upbeat US economic data, especially solid inflation data, which reinforced market expectations of hawkish Fed and helped the US Dollar Index to recover some of Tuesday's lost ground in wake of Trump's comments that a strong dollar is harming the US economy.

Later during the day, investors will also scrutinize speech from the Fed Chair Janet Yellen on the goals of monetary policy and gain fresh insight on the central bank's near-term policy stance.