The Nasdaq is up 73.99 points, or 1.5 percent.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 36 points, or 0.2%, to 17831 in recent trade.
The speech, which lauded that Federal Reserve’s effort to avoid future bank failures, she said that a “very gradual” rate lift-off was a “live possibility” after the next Fed meeting of governors on december 15 to 16. Daily active users were 1.01 billion on average for September 2015, topping the milestone of 1 billion for the first time. The S&P energy sector .SPNY fell 1 percent, with Chevron CVX.N off 2.3 percent to $94.55 and Exxon XOM.N down 1.4 percent at $84.81.
Qualcomm QCOM.O weighed the most on the S&P 500, falling 15.3 percent to $51.07 after the chipmaker forecast first-quarter profit below expectations.
Drug stocks were among the biggest decliners, following another steep drop in shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The rise of the dollar had secondary impact in causing the price of oil to fall, which in turn pushed oil, gas and energy stocks lower. The grocery store chain reported that its latest quarterly profit fell by more than half as it faces more intense competition now because organic foods are becoming more widely available. Expedia shares rose 3 percent after it announced it would acquire the vacation rental company HomeAway. United States stocks closed modestly lower after wavering in a tight range on Wednesday, as investors assessed Yellen’s comments about rate hikes. Economists expect that US employers added 190,000 jobs last month and that the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.1 percent, according to FactSet.
“We think the Fed does raise interest rates in December, but it is going to be somewhat of a close call and it depends on how the data comes in between now and then”, said David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist for UBS wealth management.
CHINA RALLY: Chinese stocks rose as much as 3 percent during the day before closing 1.8 percent higher in a sign that state intervention has quelled investor fears about the stock market after a dramatic wipe-out of gains over the summer.
ENERGY: Benchmark US crude futures fell 42 cents to $45.90 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Ralph Lauren Corporation gained 16.1 per cent on fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.13 per share that easily topped expectations of US$1.74 per share.
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In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0963 dollars from 1.1021 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 121.06 Japanese yen, higher than 120.75 yen of the previous session.
