Stock prices likely to open higher ahead of Fed Chairman Powell’s important speech

Stock futures rose on Friday ahead of a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that is expected to provide clues about the Fed’s timetable for cutting interest rates.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 rose 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%. The major indexes fell on Thursday, led by a sharp decline in large-cap technology stocks, and were little changed on the week.

The market regained momentum this week after gaining steady ground for nearly two weeks, amid investor optimism about the economy’s continued strength and expectations that the Fed could begin cutting its benchmark interest rate as early as next month. Minutes of the Fed’s July meeting released Wednesday showed that most members of the monetary policy committee believed a September rate cut would be appropriate if economic data turn out as expected.

Market participants are looking to Powell, who will speak at the Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at 10 a.m. ET, for confirmation that the central bank is on track to cut rates at the committee’s September meeting. His views on recent inflation and labor market reports will be closely scrutinized. The Fed, which has not cut rates in more than four years, has kept the influential benchmark interest rate at a 20-year high to combat inflation, although Fed officials have recently expressed concerns about a weakening labor market.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes, which also fluctuated this week ahead of Powell’s comments, was little changed at 3.85% on Friday. On Wednesday, the yield fell below 3.80% for the first time in more than two weeks following the release of Fed minutes.

Among premarket stocks on Friday, large-cap technology stocks were higher, with Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META) all gaining ground. The iShares Semiconductor Index (SOXX) rose 1% after falling more than 3% in the previous session.

Gold futures rose about 1% to nearly $2,540, not far from record levels reached earlier in the week. Bitcoin rose slightly to around $60,700.