U.S. stocks traded lower again on Wednesday, with investors warily awaiting more economic and central bank cues from the Jackson Hole Symposium this week. Causing some added uneasiness were calls by President Trump for Fed governor Lisa Cook to resign over mortgage fraud allegations. Tech stocks again led the declines, with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares down 3.3% after falling 3.5% on Tuesday. The AI powerhouse reports results next week.
At 10:18 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points, or 0.2%, while the S&P 500 index dropped 56 points, or 0.9%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 370 points, or 1.7%.
Fed minutes due before Jackson Hole
Investors are adapting a cautious stance over just what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will signal at the Jackson Hole conference this week.
Powell is set to speak on Friday, with his address coming amid growing expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates in September. These were driven by data showing some cooling in the labor market and consumer inflation.
President Donald Trump also kept up his criticism of Powell, chiding the Fed Chair for being “too late” in cutting interest rates.
That said, investors may not have to wait until then for clues about the central bank’s next move as the minutes of the last meeting are due later in the session.
The Fed has maintained its policy rate in the 4.25%-4.50% range for all of this year, with some policymakers, and Powell in particular, expressing worries that the Trump administration’s tariffs could reignite inflation.
These minutes could show how deep divisions run after Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented at the last meeting, marking the first time two voting Fed officials have done so since 1993.
Trump said Fed’s Cook ’must resign’
President Donald Trump urged Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to "resign, now!!!" related to a potential mortgage fraud investigation. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte sent a criminal referral letter about Cook to Attorney General Pam Bondi recently, highlighting that Cook took a mortgage on an Ann Arbor, Michigan property, declaring it would be her primary residence for at least a year. Two weeks later, she reportedly took another mortgage on a Georgia property with the same primary residence declaration.
Trump has been making strides to reshape the Federal Reserve in his effort to get the Fed to lower interest rates. Fed Chair Powell has seen the brunt of Trump’s rage, and he will most likely be replaced when his term ends next year.
Retail earnings in spotlight
Before Powell’s address, the focus is on a host of major retailer earnings for more cues on the U.S. consumer.
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) stock fell after the discounter appointed Michael Fiddelke, the company’s current Chief Operating Officer, to succeed Brian Cornell as CEO, the first change since 2014, while showing continuing sales challenges.
Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) stock also slumped after the cosmetics giant forecast annual profit below expectations, citing ongoing weakness in demand in the U.S. and China as well as tariff uncertainty.
On the flip side, Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) stock rose after the retailer beat earnings expectations, and revised its full-year outlook, as demand for home projects picked up during the quarter.
TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) stock also gained after the retailer reported second-quarter comparable sales that beat expectations, while also lifting full-year guidance.
Elsewhere, Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) stock rose after the semiconductor company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations, while also providing an upbeat outlook for the current quarter.
U.S. companies have posted their strongest earnings beats in more than three years during the second quarter, according to an analysis by Jefferies, adding that the “difference between actual & consensus earnings growth is 12.3%, the widest spread since 1Q’22.”
Crude rises
Oil prices rose Wednesday, bouncing after the previous session’s losses as traders awaited fresh news over the next steps to end the war in Ukraine.
At 09:35 ET, Brent futures gained 1.1% to $66.53 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.2% to $62.52 a barrel.
Prices settled down more than 1% on Tuesday on optimism that a deal to end the war seemed closer, which would likely lead to an easing of sanctions on Russia and an increase in global supply.
Source :
https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/us-stock-futures-inch-lower-with-jackson-hole-in-focus-tech-shares-weak-4201062
