North American stock markets barely moved on Thursday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen on Friday. ( Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS )Stock markets in Toronto and New York barely moved Thursday ahead of a highly-anticipated speech by the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve. On Bay Street, the S&P/TSX composite index was ahead by a mere 4.48 points at 14,630.72, lifted by gains in gold and materials stocks. Markets analyst Scott Smith said traders are refusing to make any major bets in the stock markets ahead of Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen’s speech Friday. In recent days, several regional Fed presidents have made hawkish comments about a rise being imminent and injecting some volatility into North American stock indices.

Source: thestar August 25, 2016 16:52 UTC