Benzinga
Published Feb 06, 2023 11:45
Updated Feb 06, 2023 13:10
Nasdaq Futures Indicate Subdued Start For Wall Street: Jerome Powell's Speech On Tuesday Key Highlight This Week
Benzinga - Stock futures indicate major Wall Street indices are expected to open lower this week that will see a crucial speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Economic Club of Washington on Tuesday. The speech will be watched carefully by market participants as it comes after Friday’s jobs data release that has once again made the case for sustained rate hikes.
See Also: What Are Futures Contracts
The Labor Department reported last week that the U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, far exceeding economist estimates of 187,000 new jobs. Wage growth dropped to just 4.4% in the month, and the unemployment rate hit a 50-year low of 3.4%.
Cues From Last Week’s Trading:
Major Wall Street indices closed in the green last week after the Federal Reserve dialed down the pace of its rate hike to 25 basis points on expected lines and Powell acknowledged that inflation has begun declining. However, investors and traders used the rally to book profits towards the end of the week following the jobs data release. The Nasdaq Composite gained 4.3% last week while the S&P 500 Index rose 2.15%. The Dow Industrials closed marginally higher during the period.
Index Performance Value | ||
Nasdaq Composite 4.3% 12,006.96 | ||
S&P 500 2.15% 4,136.48 | ||
Dow Industrials 0.05% 33,926.01 |
ANZ Research said in a note the central bank continues to anticipate that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate. “Chair Powell is pleased with the recent softer inflation prints, but says the Fed needs substantially more evidence to be confident that inflation is on a sustained downward path. For the Fed, the biggest uncertainty surrounding the inflation outlook is what happens with core services ex-shelter prices. Wages growth is the main driver of this component of inflation,” it said.
It stated that although wage growth is easing, it needs to slow further. “With the labour market remaining tight, the Fed is likely to remain hawkish with its guidance,” ANZ Research said.
Futures Today:
In pre-market trading, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY) was down 0.8% at the time of writing while the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (NASDAQ: QQQ) fell 1.05%.
Index Performance | |
Nasdaq 100 Futures -1.06% | |
S&P 500 Futures -0.87% | |
Dow Jones Futures -0.71% | |
R2K Futures -0.84% |
No major economic data is slotted to be released on Monday. However, a lot of Fed officials are scheduled to speak this week. Apart from Chair Powell, Fed Vice Chair Michael Barr’s speech is scheduled for Tuesday.
Stocks In Focus:
Read the original article on Benzinga
Written By: Benzinga
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.