Stocks Edge Higher Ahead of Big Powell Speech

Nordstrom plunges 20% after cutting forecast
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 24, 2022 4:10 PM CDT
Stocks Edge Higher Ahead of Big Powell Speech
Statues adorn the facade of the New York Stock Exchange.   (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Stocks closed modestly higher Wednesday as Wall Street recovered some of this week’s steep losses ahead of a highly anticipated speech by the Federal Reserve chair later this week. The S&P 500 rose 12.04 points, or 0.3%, to 4,140.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.64 points, or 0.2%, to 32,969.23. The Nasdaq gained 50.23 points, or 0.4%, to 12,431.53. Trading has been quiet the last two days ahead of a speech on Friday by Jerome Powell. Investors hope he’ll offer clarity about where rates are heading, the AP reports. Treasury yields rose after a report showed orders for long-lasting goods were stronger in July than expected, excluding transportation.

Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, rallied 3.6% for one of the larger gains in the S&P 500. On the losing end were several retailers, which are among the last companies to report how much profit they made during the spring. Nordstrom sank 20% after it cut its financial forecast for the year. Wall Street’s focus is centered on Friday, when Powell will give a speech at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s been the setting for market-moving speeches in the past, which has investors hoping Powell will offer clarity on where rate hikes are heading. Will he be hawkish, which is what traders call a bias toward aggressive rate hikes? Or dovish, which is Wall Street-speak for easier conditions?

Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments, isn't expecting Powell to be clearly one or the other. "I don’t think he wants to come across as hawkish or dovish, maybe he wants to come across as chicken," Jacobsen said, citing the many variables that could change the Fed’s thinking before its next meeting on rate policy in September. Despite all the anticipation for Powell's speech, Jacobsen said it may be a "nothingburger" with little to chew on, though the market could take that as a positive given some expectations for Powell to sound hawkish. (More stock market stories.)

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