By Sue Chang and Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch
Workday rallies after earnings; Jackson Hole retreat in
focus
U.S. stocks headed south on Thursday as hints from Federal
Reserve officials that a rate increase may be warranted soon
weighed on sentiment ahead of the much-anticipated speech by Fed
Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Friday.
"When I look at where we are with the job market, when I look at
inflation and our forecast for that, I think it is time to move,"
Kansas City Fed President Ester George said in an interview on
Bloomberg Radio. In a separate interview with CNBC, she said hikes
should be made gradually.
Later Thursday morning, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President
Robert Kaplan said the case is strengthening for a rate increase in
the not-so-distant future. He also called on lawmakers, during an
interview on CNBC, to come up with fiscal policies that might boost
the economy.
George is a voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open
Market Committee, which is set to meet Sept. 20-21. George, in a
lone dissent, called for a rate rise at the Fed's July policy
meeting. Kaplan will be a voting member of the FOMC in 2017.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 26 points, or 0.1%, to
18,455. Shares of Cisco Systems(CSCO) rose 0.8% to lead blue-chip
gainers, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc(WMT) sank 1.2% to drag on the
blue-chip index.
The S&P 500 index was off 3 points to 2,172, with the energy
sector leading the decline, while the Nasdaq Composite Index edged
down 4 points to 5,212.
Chatter on monetary policy comes as economists and Fed officials
gather for a symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which will be
headlined by Yellen's speech at 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday.
Analysts at BNP Paribas expect Yellen to "carry the torch" and
set the tone for a possible rate hike as early as next month as
FOMC members become increasingly hawkish in their rhetoric.
Mark Kepner, managing director of sales and trading at Themis
Trading, described Thursday's market as gripped in a state of
suspended animation with trading volume weak and investors
sidelined to await news out of Jackson Hole.
"I don't think people want to trade without knowing what Yellen
will say tomorrow," said Kepner, who believes there is "no harm" in
the Fed waiting until December to tighten monetary policy.
Ultraloose monetary policy has been supportive of stocks'
multiyear rise and investors have been worried that higher rates
might result in a stock-market drop.
Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Manager, said
investors are wrestling with the prospect of rate increases as much
of the world is seeing anemic economic growth.
"Central banks around the world are throwing money out the
window and we're going to be the lone wolf raising rates?" He said
that dynamic "creates another whole set of issues with a strong
dollar," which markets must contend. A stronger buck has been
blamed for hurting earnings of multinational companies as they
repatriate their sales in U.S. dollars.
Weekly jobless benefits claims fell to 261,000
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-dip-to-261000-layoffs-still-scarce-2016-08-25),
showing that fewer Americans are losing their jobs as summer nears
an end. U.S. durable-goods orders jumped 4.4% in July
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-durable-goods-orders-jump-44-in-july-2016-08-25).
Nolte said that while job growth has been a bright spot in the U.S.
economy, signs of stubbornly low inflation has remained the bugaboo
for market participants.
Thursday's economic reports may be read as providing some fodder
for a resumption of interest rate increases by the Fed, which has
been stalled since its last hike in December.
The market's vacillation comes after a downbeat session
Wednesday, when the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials finished at
their lowest levels since early August
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-search-for-firm-direction-marooned-in-wait-for-yellen-2016-08-24).
Read:How Hillary Clinton crushed another rally in biotech
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-hillary-clinton-crushed-another-rally-in-biotech-2016-08-24)
Economic news: The Kansas City Fed's manufacturing composite
index edged up to negative 4 from negative 6 in July. A reading
below zero indicates contraction in the sector.
All eyes on Jackson Hole: "Markets are incredibly quiet this
August (in sharp contrast to last year), so investors are latching
on to anything they can, which gives this meeting a lot more
attention than it probably deserves," said Neil Wilson, markets
analyst at ETX Capital, in a note.
Jeff Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, said he
didn't expect any major revelations at Jackson Hole, but said that
investors should take comfort in corporate quarterly results that
have been better than expected.
"I think there's too many positive things going on in the
market," Saut said. "We think the [corporate] profit cycle made its
low in the fourth quarter of last year," he said, suggesting that
earnings will be continue to show relative improvement in the third
and fourth quarter of 2016. He acknowledges that those earnings
beats have been mostly compared to a low bar, and that revenue
growth is negative.
Read:Existential threat looms over central bankers as they
gather at Jackson Hole
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/central-bankers-face-irrelevance-at-jackson-hole-2016-08-24)
Read:Fed might raise interest rates despite market objections
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-going-out-to-jackson-hole-to-get-divorce-from-markets-2016-08-23)
The ICE Dollar Index was flat, while gold traded lower.
Movers and shakers: Shares of Mylan NV(MYL) extended losses to
fall 1% in the wake of public outrage over the company's move to
hike the price of EpiPen, a lifesaving medication which is widely
used to treat anaphylactic shock.
Shares of Workday Inc.(WDAY) jumped 7% after the finance and
human-resources cloud company late Wednesday posted revenue ahead
of forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/workday-shares-rise-as-second-quarter-revenue-tops-street-view-2016-08-24).
Shares in Guess Inc.(GES) soared 232% on the back of earnings
out late Wednesday that beat expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/guess-shares-spike-after-earnings-same-store-sales-beat-estimates-2016-08-24).
HP Inc.(HPQ) shares were mostly flat after the tech company
reported better-than-expected earnings late Wednesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hp-inc-falls-despite-earnings-beat-outlook-disappoints-2016-08-24).
Williams-Sonoma Inc.(WSM) rose 1.9% after its quarterly results
met analysts' expectations despite issuing a weak outlook
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/williams-sonoma-shares-slide-on-disappointing-outlook-2016-08-24).
Tiffany & Co.(TIF) rallied 6.7% after the high-end jewelry
retailer beat fiscal second-quarter profit expectations
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tiffanys-stock-boosted-by-profit-beat-2016-08-25).
Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG) tumbled 13% after the jeweler
reported that second-quarter sales dropped
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/signet-jewelers-tiffany-co-report-sales-drops-2016-08-25).
Medtronic PLC(MDT) declined 1.3% lower after affirming its
fiscal 2017 outlook.
Dollar General Corp.(DG) tanked 17% and Dollar Tree Inc.(DLTR)
dropped nearly 10% after both discount retailer reported
disappointing earnings.
St. Jude Medical Inc.(STJ) slumped 5.2% after short selling firm
Muddy Waters Capital said it was betting against the cardiovascular
medical device maker
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/st-jude-medicals-stock-drops-after-short-seller-muddy-waters-takes-aim-2016-08-25).
Other markets: Stocks in Asia closed mostly lower
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-slump-as-investors-remain-cautious-2016-08-24)
as investors there remained on the sidelines ahead of Yellen's
speech.
European markets followed suit and dropped sharply
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-slide-after-surprise-drop-in-german-business-confidence-2016-08-25),
with Germany's DAX 30 index among the biggest decliners after a
disappointing reading on German business sentiment
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/germanys-ifo-index-falls-sharply-missing-views-2016-08-25).
Oil futures
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-waver-as-disappointing-us-inventory-data-fuel-oversupply-concerns-2016-08-25)
turned positive, after sinking to a one-week low Wednesday on
disappointing U.S. inventory data.
--Sara Sjolin contributed to this report.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 25, 2016 15:44 ET (19:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.