Stock futures are pointing to a lower open for major indexes on Thursday as investors prepare for tomorrow’s highly anticipated speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4% recently, while those linked to the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. The benchmark S&P 500 index has closed slightly lower the past four sessions, led by declines in technology sector stocks, after posting a series of record highs in previous weeks.
Market participants will be keeping a close eye on economic data this morning, with weekly jobless claims, home sale numbers and other reports scheduled to be released. The big event, though, is the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, a gathering of central bankers from around the world that kicks off in earnest today. Several Fed officials are slated to speak today, but investors are bracing for what Powell has to say tomorrow morning.
Powell will provide his assessment of the economy and what that means for interest rates at a time when markets are pricing in the likelihood that the Fed will start cutting rates at its next policy meeting in September. After the Fed stood pat on rates in July, Powell said that officials needed to see more data on how tariffs are affecting the economy, notably inflation, before adjusting policy. If Powell maintains that cautious stance and fails to signal that rate cuts are coming, investors will be disappointed.
Technology stocks were under pressure again this morning, though the moves were small. Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Broadcom (AVGO) and Tesla (TSLA) each declined less than 1%.
Shares of Palantir (PLTR), the AI data analytics software company and retail investor favorite, were down 0.5% after six straight days of declines that have shaved 16% of their value.
Walmart (WMT) shares declined 3% this morning after the retail giant and Dow component reported weaker-than-expected earnings, while raising its outlook for the full year.
Bitcoin was at $113,100 recently, down from an overnight high of $114,800. The digital currency hit a record high of $124,500 a week ago before falling sharply as market participants scaled back their expectations for Fed rate cuts after a worrisome inflation report.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects borrowing costs on a wide array of consumer and business loans, was at 4.32%, up from 4.30% at yesterday’s close. The yield traded as low as 4.20% last week before the disappointing inflation reading.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.2% at 98.37.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 0.6% to $63.10, rising for a second straight day after falling to their lowest levels since early June. Gold futures were down 0.4% at around $3,375 an ounce.