A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from
Brigid Riley
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be back in the spotlight when
he takes the podium at Jackson Hole later in the day to deliver
a speech investors have been waiting for all week.
Any hints about the Fed’s rate outlook are sure to
reverberate across asset classes.
Stock markets around the globe slid as nerves grew, with
Wall Street taking a tumble overnight and Japan’s Nikkei
dropping 2% in the Asian morning.
Stoxx 50 futures didn’t offer much hope for the
coming day after Europe’s benchmark drooped on
Thursday.
The pristine U.S. resiliency story took a hit earlier this
week after surveys showing dismal business activity shook
confidence. Apparel retailer Gap on Thursday joined a
pack of corporations that have forecast steeper-than-expected
declines in revenue, against a backdrop of weakening demand for
discretionary items.
Meanwhile, weekly figures on unemployment insurance out the
same day served as a reminder that the U.S. labour market
remains tight, providing no relief for the Fed.
Fed officials squeezed in some final public comments before
the boss’s speech: Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker
leaned towards holding policy steady for the rest of the year,
while Boston Fed President Susan Collins kept the door open for
additional hikes.
Whether or not those comments are any sort of a preview of
what’s to come from Powell’s speech, investors will just have to
wait to find out.
Key developments that could influence markets on Friday:
– Jackson Hole: Speeches by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and ECB
President Christine Lagarde
– Germany Q2 GDP detailed, August business surveys
– Sweden July PPI, unemployment rate, payrolls
(Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Kevin Buckland and
Edmund Klamann)
