Wall Street futures rise ahead of Powell’s Jackson Hole speech

Futures for Wall Street’s major indexes rose on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium, looking for clues about U.S. interest rate cuts.

While minutes from the Fed’s July meeting released this week showed that several central bank officials were ready to consider a rate cut in September, Powell’s speech could offer insight into the pace of easing and how policymakers will respond to the economy’s evolution.

Powell will speak at 11 a.m. at the central bank meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“The question is whether we will get to the point where the door opens for a 50 basis point move – if not in September, then at least by the end of the year,” said ING strategist Francesco Pesole.

Traders are fully pricing in a scenario where the Fed begins easing rates at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, with a 74% chance of a 25 basis point cut, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

Recent data, including weekly jobless claims and revised employment numbers, have signaled that the U.S. economy is slowing, albeit gradually, easing fears of a recession.

That helped Wall Street’s three major indexes recover from the slide triggered earlier this month by the July jobs report and the reversal of yen carry trades.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.44%, while Nasdaq 100 futures contracts rose 0.72% and Dow Jones futures rose 0.29%.

Source: Terra

Rose

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