Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures traded higher Friday, bouncing back after the previous session’s hefty losses ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s key speech at the Jackson Hole symposium.
By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was 100 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures traded 12 points, or 0.3%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 25 points, or 0.2%.
Wall Street’s main indices slumped Thursday, despite stunning results from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world's most valuable chipmaker, as better-than-expected unemployment data saw jitters mount ahead of an eagerly-awaited speech by the head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 370 points, or 1.1%, its worst day since March, while the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 1.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.9%, their biggest single-day losses since early August.
Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole in spotlight
The yearly gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming started on Thursday, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be in the spotlight later in the day when he delivers a speech investors have been waiting for all week.
Last year, Powell used this speech to warn of “some pain” ahead in the battle against inflation, hitting the stock market, and any hints about the Fed's rate outlook are sure to reverberate strongly.
The Fed is trying to walk a tightrope. Inflation readings have been cooling in the past few months, but prices still aren't back to the Fed's annual 2% target and a still-tight labor market gives officials reason to remain vigilant.
The U.S. central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its next meeting in September, but there still remains a chance that it raises by another quarter of a percentage point at its November meeting.
Michigan consumer sentiment due
The University of Michigan's latest consumer sentiment reading is the main economic data release Friday, and is expected to show that confidence has slipped slightly in August to 71.2, down from the prior month’s 71.6 reading.
Earlier Friday, data showed that the mood among German businesses deteriorated more than expected in August, falling for the fourth month in a row and adding to fears that the eurozone’s largest economy may be heading for its second recession inside a year.
Affirm soars after jump in transactions
The quarterly earnings season is coming to a close, but Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) will be in the spotlight after the buy-now-pay-later business posted a jump in transactions on its platforms that beat expectations.
Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) stock fell premarket after the chipmaker posted a fall in second-quarter revenue, hit by a weak enterprise market, while Hawaiian Electric (NYSE:HE) slumped after the county of Maui sued the power company, accusing it of acting negligently by failing to shut down its equipment, sparking wildfires.
Crude on course for losing week
Oil prices firmed Friday, but remained on course for a second consecutive week as concerns over slowing Chinese demand and increased U.S. supply as well as a stronger dollar weighed.
The dollar jumped to its strongest level since early-June earlier Friday, ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium. Strength in the dollar weighs on oil markets by making crude more expensive for international buyers.
By 06:30 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.2% higher at $80.03 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 1.3% to $84.43.
The benchmarks are still set to fall around 1% for the week, a second consecutive week of decline.
Additionally, Gold Futures fell 0.1% to $1,944.35/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% lower at 1.0796.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)