Stock futures were higher Thursday as central bankers from across the globe convene for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s highly-anticipated Jackson Hole economic symposium.
Contracts on the S&P 500 jumped 0.6% after the index snapped a three-day losing streak in the previous session. Dow Jones Industrial futures added 100 points, or 0.3%, while futures tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.8%.
Across the Atlantic, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index hovered fractionally above the flatline by afternoon trade, having given back gains of more than 0.7% in early trade. Oil and gas stocks climbed 1.4% while retail stocks fell 1.2%.
Investors will tune in to the Fed’s gathering in Wyoming for clues from central bank officials on the pace and magnitude of their rate-hiking plans for the rest of this year as activity appears to slow across some facets of the U.S. economy.
The most closely-watched portion of the meeting is set for Friday, with Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to deliver remarks that may indicate whether the central bank’s next policy announcement in September will result in another 75 basis point rate hike or lighter bump of 0.50%.
Powell will deliver a speech that could signal how high or how fast the central bank may raise interest rates in the coming months. Powell’s remarks will be scrutinized by Wall Street traders and economists and could potentially cause sharp swings in financial markets.
