The S&P 500 traded flat early Friday as Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh opened his speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, a day after the index climbed 0.7%. Warsh said the Fed may not be done fighting inflation, while traders priced a one-in-three chance of a September rate hike. Earnings swings in Elastic, Affirm, Marvell and PayPal drove the biggest single-stock moves.
S&P 500 steady as Warsh takes the stage
The S&P 500 index was flat shortly after Friday's opening bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 0.2% and small caps dipped. The moves came as Warsh began his talk at the Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Warsh said the Fed may not be done fighting inflation and that financial conditions don't look too restrictive, meaning money and credit remain relatively easy to come by. Since taking the helm, he has voiced strong support for — according to Investor's Business Daily: "price stability" — but has not pushed for a rate hike. At the July meeting, three policymakers voted for an increase.
Markets now see a one-in-three chance of a Sept. 16 hike, down from about 60% just after the July 28-29 meeting, but a 53% chance of a late-October increase.
Thursday's rally set the stage
The gains built on Thursday's session, when the Dow Jones rose 0.2%, the S&P 500 climbed 0.7% and the Nasdaq jumped 1.6%, with the small-cap Russell 2000 advancing 0.3%. All four indexes rose off their 21-day moving averages, with Nvidia, CrowdStrike and Salesforce fueling the tech gains. The 10-year Treasury yield strengthened to 4.69% after inching up to 4.67% in the prior session, while crude oil lost more than 1% early Friday after rising 1.6% to $83.53 a barrel on Thursday.
Earnings drive the biggest movers
Elastic shot up nearly 22%, hitting a 52-week high, after beating earnings estimates and raising guidance. Affirm leapt nearly 13% on a similarly bullish report. Marvell Technology and Rubrik slumped despite beating earnings, with Marvell undercutting its 50-day line. PayPal tumbled roughly 12% after private equity firm Advent and payments firm Stripe reportedly gave up their $50 billion pursuit of the company.
Bitcoin traded near $79,400 as investors awaited Warsh's remarks. Gold futures dipped 0.4% early Friday. Prices of bitcoin and metals have rallied in recent weeks as Treasury Department moves sent the U.S. dollar tumbling, though the greenback has crept higher in recent sessions.
Source: Investor's Business Daily
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