Stocks Rise Ahead of Jackson Hole Speech

U.S. stocks rose 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. The Dow Jones Industrials regained 371.2 points to conclude Thursday at 45,156.70. The broader index revived 36.08 points to 6,406.25. The NASDAQ recovered 80.37 points to 21,180.68. The S&P 500 has lost 0.9% and the NASDAQ is down 2%. The Dow Has outperformed, rising 0.3% this week. 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. Intuit stock pulled back more than 6%. While the financial technology company’s fourth-quarter results surpassed expectations – its adjusted earnings of $2.75 per share on revenue of $3.83 billion beat the $2.66 per share on revenue of $3.75 billion that analysts had expected – its revenue growth for the first quarter came in weaker than expected. Prices for 10-year Treasury gained ground Friday, reducing yields to 4.31% from Thursday’s 4.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices gained a mere six cents to $67.73 U.S. a barrel. Gold prices dropped eight dollars at $3,373.60 U.S. an ounce. Stocks Rise Ahead of Jackson Hole Speech