Post-Fed stock futures trade in tight range

Wall Street stock futures were trading in a narrow range on Thursday after comments from the new head of the Federal Reserve suggested U.S. interest rates could rise sooner than financial markets were anticipating.

VOICES: Janet Yellen takes charge at the Fed

Dow Jones industrial average index futures advanced 0.6% and Nasdaq index futures fell 0.1%. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell by a similar amount.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225, the benchmark for the Tokyo stock market, fell 1.7% to 14,224.23. European regional benchmarks declined.

At a press conference, Janet Yellen implied that the Fed's time frame for raising interest rates was closer to the first half of 2015, sooner than many had expected. The Fed also voted to cut its monthly bond purchases from $65 billion to $55 billion as part of its ongoing winding down of the extraordinary monetary stimulus.

Yellen's comments after the Fed's first policy meeting since she replaced Ben Bernanke sent Wall Street lower.

On Wednesday, the Dow lost 114.02 points, or 0.7%, to 16,222.17. The S&P 500 dropped 11.48 points, or 0.6%, to 1,860.77 and the Nasdaq composite lost 25.71 points, or 0.6%, to 4,307.60.

Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery was up 27 cents to $100.64 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract, which expires Thursday, gained 67 cents to $100.37 the day before. Most trading has moved to the May contract, which was up 11 cents at $99.28 a barrel.

WEDNESDAY: Stocks hammered by Fed announcement

Contributing: Associated Press