Stocks Opened Flat, Jackson Hole Gathering in Focus

U.S. stocks opened flat on Thursday as investors digested commentary from the Federal Reserve and looked ahead to a speech from its chairman.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 11.62 points, or 0.05%, to 25,721.98. The S&P 500 added 2.62 points, or 0.09%, to 2,864.44. The Nasdaq Composite gained 27.93 points, or 0.35%, to 7,917.03.

Crude-oil futures pulled back slightly early Thursday in New York after putting in their highest levels in about two weeks, backed by signs of tightening U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery edged 15 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $67.71 a barrel. October Brent crude slipped 37 cents, or 0.5%, at $74.40 a barrel.

Airplane parts maker Honeywell International Inc (HON.N) raised its full-year profit forecast for the fourth time this year on Thursday and said it would receive $3 billion in one-time dividends from units it plans to spin off as part of a company reorganization. The company said it now expects adjusted earnings of $8.10 to $8.20 per share for 2018.

Alibaba reported strong first-quarter revenue growth on Thursday morning as its core e-commerce and fast-growing cloud-computing segments provided a boost. The Chinese e-ecommerce giant said revenue soared 61% year-over-year to 80.9 billion yuan, or about $11.8 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at 8.04 yuan.