- US stocks rose ahead of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's key speech at Jackson Hole.
- Powell is scheduled to deliver remarks on the economy and the path of interest rates at 10 am ET.
US stocks edged higher on Friday ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
Major averages were rising as trading kicked off, while bond yields edged lower. The 10-year Treasury yield dipped two basis points to 3.839%
Powell will give his annual speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium at 10 am ET, and investors will be closely listening for clues as to how many interest rate cuts the Fed may implement in the short term.
Recent comments from Fed President Susan Collins said that rate cuts from the Fed should be "gradual" and that she is mainly focused on "preserving that healthy labor market while we continue to bring inflation down."
Fed President Raphael Bostic told CNBC on Friday that "we are close to being ready to cut rates," adding that "we can't wait until inflation is back down to 2% to alter the policy rate."
The CME FedWatch Tool suggests the Fed will launch its first interest rate cut at its September FOMC meeting and ultimately cut rates by nearly 100 basis points by the end of the year.
But all eyes are on Powell as his words generally have a strong impact on the stock market, and some market experts are concerned heading into the speech.
"We have been voicing concerns ahead of tomorrow's speech for a few reasons. For starters, the S&P 500's track record after the past few Jackson Hole conferences has been uninspiring," Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick said in a note on Thursday.
The past three Jackson Hole speeches have been followed by an average one-month loss of about 4% for the S&P 500, according to Sosnick.
"That may be attributable as much to September seasonality as it is to the speeches themselves, but those speeches indeed played a role in setting the tone for the weeks that follow," Sosnick said.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 5,601.02, up 0.55%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 40,898.93, up 0.46% (+186.15 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 17,750.04, up 0.74%
Here's what else is going on today:
- A crypto scam crushed a Kansas bank and got its CEO sent to jail for 24 years.
- A small mining firm saw its stock soar after it discovered the world's second-largest diamond.
- Two economists explain why the Fed should cut interest rates more than expected next month.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 1.66% to $74.22 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, jumped 1.41% to $78.31 a barrel.
- Gold was higher by 0.80% to $2,536.90 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield dipped two basis points to 3.839%.
- Bitcoin rose 1.05% to $61,018.