U.S. stock futures drifted higher Friday ahead of highly anticipated speech from Jerome Powell at a gathering of central bankers and academics in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which could help to crystallize market expectations for further monetary policy easing in the coming weeks.
How are the major benchmarks faring?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU19, +0.19% were up 59 points, or 0.2%, at 26,283, those for the S&P 500 index ESU19, +0.25% were 8.2 points, or 0.3%, higher at 2,930.25, while Nasdaq-100 futures NQU19, +0.33% advanced 27.25 points to reach 7,738.25, a gain of 0.4%.
On Thursday, the The Dow DJIA, +0.19% rose 49.51 points or 0.2%, at 26,252.24, powered in large part by 4.2% gain in shares of Boeing Co. BA, +4.24%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.05% slipped 1.48 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,922.95, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.36% gave up 28.82 points to 7,991.38, a decline of 0.4%.
For the week, the Dow is set to gain 1.4%, the S&P 500 is on track to return 1.2%, while the Nasdaq is on pace to end the week 1.2% higher, as of Thursday’s close.
Read: Stocks say the consumer isn’t as strong as government data suggests
What’s driving the market?
All eyes on Wall Street, and throughout the investing world, will be focused on Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium Thursday morning.
Federal Reserve officials will be joined by academic economists and central bankers from around the world at a mountain resort near Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday and Saturday for the Kansas City Fed’s annual gathering.
Powell is set to speak Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, and the Fed Chairman’s comments will be parsed for clues on what the central bank might do at its upcoming policy meeting Sept. 17-18, amid recessionary signals emanating from the bond market. The so-called yield-curve inversion, where the short-dated yield has risen above its longer-term counterpart, has raised anxieties about a looming recession in the U.S., because the condition has preceded the past seven recessions.
However, reports suggest that the policy maker may disappoint investors hoping for further easing by sticking to his previous stance that the Fed’s most recent rate reduction was a merely a “mid-cycle adjustment” and not the start of an easing trend.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, said in a daily research note that while “we are not sure of the markets direction, one thing we believe is a near certain is that the Fed Chief will likely keep the markets guessing on a September move. In other words, no commitment.”
On Thursday, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan from Jackson Hole said he was open to more interest-rates cuts but stopped short of full-throated support for further rate reductions.
However, Kansas City Fed President Esther George and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, said on CNBC that they would like to hold interest rates steady.
How are other markets trading?
Stocks in Asia traded mixed overnight, as China’s CSI 300 000300, +0.72% rose 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.50% gained 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK, +0.40% climbed 0.4%.
In Europe, stocks traded mostly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP, +0.53% gaining 0.6%.
In commodities markets, the price of U.S. crude oil CLV19, -0.13% edged higher, though set for its first weekly slide in three weeks, while gold prices GCZ19, -0.25% were down 0.3%, as the U.S. dollar DXY, +0.27%, a key driver for commodities priced in the currency, edged 0.3% higher against its major rivals.
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