- US stocks were mixed ahead of Jerome Powell's key speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
- Inflation data showed personal consumption expenditures eased in July.
US stocks wavered on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Investors cheered fresh personal consumption expenditures data — the Fed's preferred measure of inflation — which on Friday revealed inflation eased slightly during in July.
The data showed a year-over-year rise of 6.3% last month, down from June's 6.8%.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9;30 a.m. on Friday:
- S&P 500: 4,196.55, down 0.06%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,287.00, down 0.01% (4.78 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 12,615.09, down 0.19%
Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler mocked claims that the US is in a recession, citing low employment and high job vacancies. In his view, inflation could fade over the next year.
"Big Short" investor Michael Burry, meanwhile, said the US government is backstopping markets and the economy, warning that too much fiscal support will end in disaster.
Specifically, Burry pointed to things like student debt relief as a "Fiscal Put," comparing them to giving sugar to babies.
Overseas, Russia is reportedly burning $10 million a day of natural gas that was usually destined for Germany before Moscow slashed supplies. Those flows previously would have been exported via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline — which is about to face a three-day closure at the end of August.
The UK, for its part, has boosted natural gas production 26% as prices soar and Europe seeks relief amid its energy crisis, although some commentators say the uptick in output may not be enough to help through winter months.
Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.38% to $92.87 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched higher 0.56% to $99.90 a barrel.
Gold edged lower 0.56% to 1,761.40 per ounce. The 10-year yield ticked higher 0.2 basis points to 3.026%.
Bitcoin rose 0.78% to $21,760.01.