U.S. Stocks Set to Open Higher
August 22 2019 - 9:42AM
Dow Jones News
By Caitlin Ostroff
-- U.S. stock futures edge up
-- Jackson Hole symposium to start
-- European, Asian stocks mixed
U.S. stock futures ticked higher Thursday as investors awaited
the start of an annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where
central bank leaders will meet to discuss issues facing the global
economy.
Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
edged up 0.1%. The contracts don't necessarily predict moves after
the opening bell.
Investors were particularly focused on Federal Reserve Chairman
Jerome Powell's speech scheduled for Friday, where he could offer
clues on the central bank's policy moving forward.
"It really is all on Powell's shoulders," said Craig Erlam, a
senior market analyst for foreign-exchange trading platform
Oanda.
Minutes released Wednesday from the Fed's latest policy meeting
showed officials saw their move to cut interest rates last month as
a "recalibration," rather than the start of a more aggressive
easing cycle.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial
U.S. jobless claims fell by 12,000 to 209,000 in the week ended
Aug. 17, keeping the number of Americans applying for first-time
unemployment benefits at historic lows. Data on U.S. preliminary
manufacturing figures will be released later Thursday.
Ahead of the U.S. market open, global stocks wavered as minutes
from the European Central Bank showing broad support for prolonged
stimulus measures failed to ease recession concerns.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was flat in early afternoon trade, having
retraced earlier losses after the ECB minutes signaled stimulus
measures that could include interest-rate cuts and new asset
purchases.
The minutes came after earlier eurozone data on activity in the
manufacturing and services sectors for Germany and France showed
small rises, beating forecasts.
Although the German economic data were better than expected,
Florian Hense, an economist for Berenberg Bank, said he remained
concerned about a potential recession amid threats to German
exports from the Trump administration's talk of tariffs on European
car manufacturers.
"The numbers today neither discredit that nor really confirm
it," he said. "What it confirms is that the domestic side of the
economy is still holding up pretty well."
The German 10-year bund was yielding minus 0.618% on Thursday,
up from minus 0.677% on Wednesday. Bond yields and prices move in
opposite directions.
Asian stocks were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite up 0.1%,
Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei 225 up 0.1%.
In currencies, the Chinese yuan slipped against the U.S. dollar
to its lowest levels since 2008. One U.S. dollar recently bought
7.0853 onshore yuan, compared with 7.0875 in the offshore
market.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 1.620% from 1.577% on
Wednesday, while the two-year Treasury yield climbed to 1.594%,
from 1.569%.
In commodities, global benchmark Brent crude oil gained 0.6% to
$60.67 a barrel. Gold prices slipped 0.7%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 22, 2019 09:27 ET (13:27 GMT)
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