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20/08/24
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Wall Street Inches Lower with Jackson Hole in Focus
On Tuesday, stocks on Wall Street inched lower and consolidated after recent gains, with focus turning to the Jackson Hole Symposium for clues about the Fed’s policy outlook.
Both the NASDAQ Composite and the S&P 500 traded largely unchanged, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55 points, or 0.1%.
The benchmark Wall Street indices have lately been on a positive run, with the NASDAQ Composite and the S&P 500 posting their 8th straight positive session on Monday, the longest winning stretch for the Nasdaq since Dec. 2023 and a first for the S&P 500 since Nov. 2023.
The Jackson Hole Symposium starts later in the week, with a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.
Powell’s address will be closely watched amid growing expectations that the central bank will be cutting interest rates by 0.25% in Sept., as recent economic data showed some easing in inflation.
Evercore analysts said, Powell could possibly flag a cut of 0.50%, although they don’t expect the Fed chairman will explicitly mention by how much the Fed plans to begin cutting rates.
Also in focus will be any comments on a potential recession, especially whether Powell still feels a soft landing for the U.S. economy is possible.
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