US Open: Wall Street struggles for direction after Jerome Powell's speech

Highlight

• Jerome Powell spoke at the Jackson Hole Symposium

• Data from the University of Michigan

• Higher recommendations for Netflix (NFLX.US), better results for GAP (GPS.US)

The opening half of today's trading session on Wall Street has been influenced by varying market sentiments, stemming from Fed Chair Jerome Powell's address at the Jackson Hole Symposium in Wyoming. Notably, major US indices commenced with a marginal upswing, with further gains observed following the commencement of the Fed Chair's discourse at 16:05. Despite this promising start, a shift towards a more hawkish stance became evident during the speech, resulting in sudden declines in indices and an uptick in the strength of the dollar. Currently, there is a continuation of subdued market sentiments, but with less volatility as compared to the post-speech period. At present, US100 is trading below by 0.20%, while US500 maintains performance close to the opening levels.

Meanwhile, data from the University of Michigan regarding consumer sentiment and expected inflation was also released. The data didn't bring significant surprises. Inflation expectations increased slightly, with a year-ahead expectation of 3.5% and a 5-year expectation of 3.05%. Consumer sentiment fared somewhat worse, falling short of expectations at 69.5 compared to an expected 71.2. Further deterioration in consumer sentiment could imply a continued decline in retail sales, which had been performing exceptionally well thus far.