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August 28, 2026 - 14:35
4 minutes
(Bloomberg) — US stocks drifted ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s address at Jackson Hole, with traders looking for clarity on his economic outlook and strategy for bringing inflation back to target.S&P 500 futures were little changed, leaving the index on course for a weekly advance. Nasdaq 100 contracts gave back some of the gains sparked by Nvidia Corp.’s blockbuster outlook. PayPal Holdings Inc. slumped 14% in premarket trading after Advent and Stripe abandoned their pursuit of the firm.The dollar and gold barely budged. Brent crude fluctuated. Treasury yields rose across the curve, with the 30-year rate up two basis points to 5.21%. Copper headed for a ninth weekly gain, the longest run since 2020.Warsh’s address, scheduled for 10 a.m. New York time, is shaping up as a crucial moment for markets as doubts about his commitment to taming inflation have helped push up long-term yields. A divided policy committee and the Treasury’s bond market intervention are further complicating the backdrop.“Investors are reluctant to increase their exposure just hours before Kevin Warsh’s speech,” said Nabil Milali at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management. “His recent comments have been so vague that no one knows what to expect today, with some investors anticipating a very hawkish message and others expecting the exact opposite.”“What investors want to see is the framework that the Fed is using to think about the economy to allow markets to better assess incoming data,” said Hugh Gimber, global markets strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management. “That’s the piece that’s been missing at the moment.”The speech will be more significant for foreign-exchange, gold and bond markets than for equities, said Ulrich Urbahn at Berenberg. History suggests a similar response, with the S&P 500 gaining just 0.4% on average in the week following the gathering, data compiled by Bloomberg show.“A firm message on inflation, fiscal credibility or the need to preserve restrictive policy would tend to lift real and nominal long-end yields, support the dollar and pressure duration-sensitive assets,” Urbahn said.Europe’s Stoxx 600 bounced back as consumer-related stocks recovered, with the gauge set to dodge its longest streak of weekly losses since 2024. Regional yields rose as Spanish and French inflation quickened, strengthening the case for a rate increase next month.The yen led losses among major currencies, moving closer to 160 against the dollar and heading for its lowest level since the coordinated US-Japan intervention at the end of July. Japan spent a record $96.4 billion over the past month to support the currency, according to data released by the Finance Ministry on Friday.Corporate News:CXMT Corp.’s first-half revenue leapt almost 10-fold while profit surged, reflecting a rush for AI hardware that’s made the memory chipmaker China’s most valuable business. Marvell Technology Inc. shares fell more than 7% in premarket trading despite beating estimates and offering a positive outlook. The Trump administration must lift its ban on Anthropic PBC’s artificial intelligence technology for federal agencies, a US judge ruled. Some of the main moves in markets:StocksS&P 500 futures were little changed as of 8:32 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5% The MSCI World Index rose 0.1% CurrenciesThe Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1641 The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3578 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 159.61 per dollar CryptocurrenciesBitcoin fell 0.7% to $79,512.63 Ether fell 0.3% to $2,501.05 BondsThe yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.69% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 3.28% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 5.05% CommoditiesWest Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.9% to $82.81 a barrel Spot gold was little changed This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.–With assistance from Margaryta Kirakosian and Faseeh Mangi.©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
