Dow Jones futures were relatively steady in after-hours trading, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, in anticipation of Fed chief Jerome Powell’s important speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. The stock market rally took a hit on Thursday, with major indexes reversing lower after hitting resistance near the 50-day line. Technology stocks, including Nvidia, Marvell Technology, Broadcom, and Adobe, all saw declines. Earnings reports from Marvell Technology, Workday, and Intuit were also released after the closing bell, with Marvell surpassing expectations and Workday showing strong performance, while Intuit’s guidance was seen as light.
Investors are eagerly awaiting Powell’s speech, where he is expected to signal patience and potentially leave the possibility of future rate hikes open. However, the recent surge in Treasury yields means that market rates have tightened, reducing the need for official Fed rate hikes. Powell may also address the challenges of bringing inflation back to 2%. The market is currently pricing in a 20% chance of a Fed rate hike in late September and a 45% chance by the November 1 meeting.
In terms of market performance, the stock market rally opened higher but quickly reversed lower as major indexes hit resistance at the 50-day line. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%, the S&P 500 slumped 1.35%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite sold off 1.9%. The small-cap Russell 2000 also sank 1.3%. Notable declines were seen in growth ETFs, such as the Innovator IBD 50 ETF, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF, and the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF. Meanwhile, AI stocks, including Marvell Technology, Broadcom, Adobe, Palantir Technologies, C3.ai, and Super Micro Computer, all saw reversals as they approached key technical levels.