US stocks edge higher as all eyes on Powell's economic policy speech

• US stocks moved higher on Friday with all eyes on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's economic policy speech.
• Investors will be looking for clues as to when the Fed may begin tapering its monthly bond purchases.
• The Jackson Hole speech will be virtual due to the rising spread of COVID-19's Delta variant.
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US stocks edged higher on Friday as all eyes are on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Friday economic policy speech.

Powell and Fed governors are set to meet for their annual Jackson Hole meeting today, though the event has been changed to virtual format following the recent surge in COVID-19 Delta cases.

Top of mind for investors is the Fed's move to potentially begin tapering its monthly bond purchases, which were put into place amid the COVID-19 pandemic to calm down credit markets and ensure companies could raise debt.

Recent minutes from July's meeting suggested that the Fed may begin tapering its $120 billion of monthly bond purchases before year-end, but not all members were on the same page.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Friday:

• S&P 500: 4,483.30, up 0.3%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 35,313.33, up 0.28% (100.21 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 14,982.77, up 0.25%

Poly Network said all of the $610 million stolen by a hacker earlier this month has been returned after Tether released the final $33 million that was frozen.

Bank of America gave four reasons why shares of Oatly could pop as much as 79% as it scales up production to meet demand for its oat milk products.

China intends to ban US stock listings for tech companies that have troves of sensitive user data, according to a report. The move comes following the troubled IPO of ride-hailing giant Didi.

Apple CEO Tim Cook sold $750 million worth of shares he received in a performance payout, netting him a total $355 million after paying taxes.

Oil prices jumped. West Texas Intermediate crude was up as much as 2.09%, to $68.83 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, rose 1.79%, to $72.32 per barrel.

Gold fell as much as 0.09%, to $1,793.60 per ounce.