U.S. stock futures were higher Friday morning as investors awaited a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as well as more housing data. Meanwhile, concerns over China remained following its plans to tighten capital requirements for banks, which could affect lending.The Federal Reserve's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming begins today. Bernanke is due to deliver the keynote speech at 10 a.m. Eastern . The speech will cover the past year of the financial crisis, the lessons learned can, and most importantly, what could be coming next in terms of policy decisions. With the loose monetary policy the Feds been having, the question now is how to scale it back while not hurting the recovery.
Also at 10:00, July existing-home sales date will be reported. They probably climbed in July to the highest level in 10 months, economists expect, signaling the housing crisis is easing. Specifically, economists polled by Bloomberg expect a 2.1% increase in purchases to a 5 million annual rate from 4.89 million.
Still, even with the recession easing, the still increasing unemployment caused more than 13% of American homeowners with a mortgage to fall behind on their payments or are in foreclosure.
Overseas, European stock markets advanced Friday as investors there also awaited the key comments from Bernanke. Asian markets ended mixed as reports indicated China plans to tighten capital requirements for banks, threatening to curb the record lending that's fueled a 60 percent rally in the stock market.
Oil prices remained just over $73 a barrel Friday, "as traders weighed mixed economic data from the U.S. suggesting a recovery in demand will be slow," the AP reports.
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