Wall Street braced for a pivotal moment Friday morning as Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh prepared to deliver his closely watched Jackson Hole speech at 10am Eastern Time. US stock futures traded flat while Treasury yields climbed one to two basis points, with the 10-year note hitting 4.69% and the three-year reaching 5.21%. Investors are hungry for clarity on the central bank’s approach to wrestling inflation back to its 2% target.
What should traders expect from Warsh’s remarks? The speech comes as market breadth continues to narrow, with only 30% of S&P 500 components closing higher in the previous session despite an Nvidia-driven rally. Just one of 11 sectors finished in positive territory.
Corporate earnings drove sharp premarket moves. PayPal plunged 17% after a buyout consortium involving Advent and Stripe abandoned acquisition talks. Gap surged 14% following stronger than expected profit and a leadership ce at Old Navy. Marvell Technology dropped 7% despite beating estimates, while Affirm Holdings jumped 13% on robust revenue guidance.
Oil prices softened as Middle East tensions remained subdued. Copper extended its winning streak to nine consecutive weeks, the longest run since 2020, while silver gained 1.5%. The dollar held steady against major currencies.
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