Futures Climb Ahead of Powell Speech

U.S. stock futures rose slightly Friday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. Investors will be seeking clues on the path forward for monetary policy. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hurtled higher 153 points, or 0.3%, to 45,007. Futures for the broader index accumulated 16.75 points, or 0.3%, to 6,405. Futures for the NASDAQ hiked 58.25 points, or 0.2%, to 23,278. As of Thursday’s close, all three major averages were headed for a losing week. The S&P 500 is off 1.2% week to date, while the NASDAQ is down 2.4%. The 30-stock Dow is on pace for a roughly 0.4% slide. Meta Platforms has awarded a $10-billion cloud contract to Alphabet’s Google. Investors are looking forward to Powell’s speech hoping to gain clarity on the interest rate outlook. Markets were last pricing in a 75% chance of a quarter-point cut at the September meeting. Recently, the prospect of lower interest rates helped bolster parts of the market that have missed out on this year’s rally, with investors dumping megacap tech for small caps and value plays. However, a more hawkish outlook from Powell could throw cold water on the market. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 poked up 0.1% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng traveled higher 0.9%. Oil prices progressed 17 cents to $63.69 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices fell $9.40 at $3,372.20 U.S. per ounce.