This content was published on
August 28, 2026 - 00:08
4 minutes
(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks were set to open mildly lower Friday as investors braced for Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s speech in Jackson Hole, where some expect a hawkish tone.Equity-index futures for South Korea and Hong Kong pointed to initial declines, while those for Japan were flat. US stock contracts edged down after tech shares rallied on Wall Street, as Nvidia Corp.’s bullish outlook boosted optimism in the artificial intelligence trade. Nvidia surged almost 9%, the most since April 2025.Treasuries fell for a second day Thursday ahead of Warsh’s remarks, with yields rising two to three basis points across the curve. US crude oil climbed on signs that diplomatic efforts toward an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz have hit fresh hurdles.Warsh’s speech will be key in determining whether the recent rise in bond yields has further to run, with investors looking for clues on how the Fed will balance persistent inflation pressures against signs of a cooling economy. A lack of clarity on the policy path may add to volatility in longer-maturity Treasuries and spill over into stocks.“If he does not give any framework guidance, the risk is that it will involve a much higher move in long rates,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.Traders also assessed fresh clues on the Fed’s policy path, including a drop in US jobless claims and rising wholesale inventories, while the merchandise trade deficit widened in July to the largest since early last year. Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said monetary policy isn’t restraining the economy.Fed policymakers left the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.5% to 3.75% at their latest meeting, while futures are pricing in a quarter-point increase by year-end.“Clear policy signal will likely be scarce given Warsh’s reluctance to provide forward guidance,” said Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. “Instead, Warsh may preview the Fed five task forces’ early findings on communications, the balance sheet, economic data, productivity and jobs, and the inflation frameworks.”US technology stocks rallied Thursday on Nvidia’s blockbuster outlook, lifting the major indexes even as every other sector in the US market declined.While questions over the sustainability of AI spending may continue to fuel bouts of volatility in tech, accelerating investment in the sector may also add to inflation and upward pressure on bond yields.“As is usually the case when tech ramps, the group is sucking oxygen from the rest of the market,” Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli wrote in a note. The “accelerating AI boom is creating upside risk for yields,” he said.Corporate Highlights:Nvidia Corp. is nearing an agreement to acquire Hugging Face in a deal that would value the AI startup at roughly $13 billion, according to news reports. Best Buy Co. fell as an increase in its outlook failed to impress investors, a sign that Wall Street is looking for stronger signs of recovery. Dollar Tree Inc. mostly met expectations last quarter and left its sales growth outlook for the year unchanged. Dollar General Corp. lifted its view for annual revenue after a sales beat. Moderna Inc. plans to raise $2 billion from selling notes that can be exchanged for shares, which it will use to invest in its cancer vaccine business and repay debt. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures fell 0.1% as of 7:05 a.m. Tokyo time Hang Seng futures fell 0.5% S&P/ASX 200 futures rose 0.1% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1652 The Japanese yen was unchanged at 159.39 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.7192 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin rose 0.2% to $80,275.18 Ether rose 0.1% to $2,510.96 CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $83.68 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
