Updated 1 min read
US stocks pushed higher on Friday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door for a September rate cut during his highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 1.7%, touching a record intraday high, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 1.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed 1.8%.
Friday’s surge came on the heels of a downbeat week for stocks, as tech stocks were beaten up by AI trade doubts.
Fed Chair Powell opened the possibility of the central bank lowering interest rates in September on Friday, saying in his speech that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”
With the speech touching both on the economic outlook and the Fed’s new policy framework, Powell still noted that risks from inflation remain “tilted to the upside,” saying that tariff-related inflation pressures “are now clearly visible.”
His remarks shook up rate-cut bets, which had been waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders on Friday were pricing in about 91.5% odds of a September cut compared to 70% earlier in the morning and 85% a week ago.
The White House was watching as closely as Wall Street as President Trump continued to push the Fed and Powell to lower rates. Trump this week opened a new front in his public pressure campaign, with a call for the resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud.
On the earnings front, Zoom (ZM) stock popped Friday after reporting an AI boost, and Ross Stores (ROST) jumped as shoppers sought discounts amid tariffs. Intuit (INTU) and Workday (WDAY), meanwhile, slid.
LIVE 19 updates
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Trump says he’ll fire Fed governor Lisa Cook if she doesn’t resign
Just as Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole opening the door to an interest rate cut from the central bank fueled market optimism — following months of social media skewering from President Trump — Trump dialed up pressure on another member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.
Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer reports:
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Ethereum leads crypto gains following Powell speech
Ethereum led an upswing in cryptocurrencies as rate cut bets soared after Jerome Powell’s policy speech in Jackson Hole opening the door to rate cuts in September.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) jumped 8.6%, while Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose a modest 2.7%. Solana (SOL-USD) climbed roughly 4%, and XRP (XRP-USD) also jumped around 4%.
Crypto stocks were also on the move, with Strategy (MSTR) shares up 5.7% and Robinhood (HOOD) stock up 4.2%. Crypto exchange platform Coinbase (COIN) soared 6.6%, and stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) shot up 9.6%.
The gains helped pare or reverse losses in those stocks as tech stocks have been beaten down this week by doubts over the sustainability of the AI trade. MSTR and HOOD shares were still set for 2.5% and 3% weekly losses, respectively, and Circle was set for a 4% decline in that time frame.
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Chart: How Powell’s speech changed rate cut expectations
As my colleague Laura Bratton noted below, investors rushed to price in near certainty of a September rate cut. Here’s another way to look at how rate cut expectations changed in the wake of Fed Chair Powell’s speech:
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Treasury yields fall as investors price in over 90% odds of September rate cut
Treasury yields fell Friday as investors priced in 91.5% odds of a September rate cut from the Federal Reserve following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole.
The 10-year yield (^TNX) fell about 5 basis points to around 4.27%, while the 30-year yield (^TYX) fell more than 3 basis points to 4.89%.
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Stocks surge, Dow touches intraday record as rate cut bets rise
Stocks jumped as September rate cut bets jumped Friday amid Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole.
The Dow (^DJI) climbed 1.6% to hit an intraday high of just over 45,548. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) jumped 1.4% to near last week’s record high for the index of 6,449.80. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 1.5% to recover some of its declines as tech stocks have lost steam amid doubts over the AI trade.
Powell in his speech in Jackson Hole on Friday opened the door to rate cuts in September, shaking up rate cut bets, which had been waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders are pricing in about 91.5% odds of a cut late Friday morning compared to 70% earlier in the day and 85% a week ago.
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Powell opens door to September rate cut, says economic outlook ‘may warrant’ change in Fed’s stance
Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland and Jennifer Schonberger report:
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Watch Fed Chair Powell’s Jackson Hole speech live
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell began speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday, where he is delivering what is expected to be his final speech at the annual gathering of central bankers, policymakers, and economists.
You can watch his remarks live below or on our livestream here:
Investors will examine Powell’s remarks for clues about the state of the economy and the potential for interest rate cuts next month. The central bank is grappling with whether to hold interest rates steady in September to counter inflation or lower rates in light of weaker labor market data.
Pressure from the Trump administration to slash rates has also ramped up in recent months, with President Trump regularly calling on Powell to ease Fed policy.
Additionally, Powell is expected to describe changes to the central bank’s policy framework. The Fed is expected to drop its average inflation targeting policy, which sets an inflation rate goal for the Fed to achieve over the long run. It was put in place pre-pandemic, when inflation ran low and Fed officials wanted to avoid deflation.
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Nvidia talking to Trump admin. about new China chip
Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howley reports:
Nvidia shares fell nearly 1% Friday morning, on track for a nearly 4% weekly loss.
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Stocks push higher at the open
US stocks rose at the open on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole at 10 a.m. ET.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose around 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) inched up nearly 0.1% — with those gains coming after another downbeat day for stocks Thursday.
The US benchmark indexes are still on track for a weekly loss after tech stocks got beaten up by AI trade doubts.
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Nio stock rises after the Tesla rival unveils affordable SUV
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NIO) revealed its new ES8 SUV on Thursday, sending US-listed shares of the Tesla (TSLA) rival 5% higher in premarket trading on Friday. The stock was the No. 1 trending ticker on Yahoo Finance on Friday morning.
The SUV is one of Nio’s most affordable yet, with prices starting at 308,800 yuan (approximately $43,000) with a battery subscription plan. The plan allows customers to pay lower upfront costs for the vehicle and then upgrade batteries for a monthly fee.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late September.
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US sectors in spotlight ahead of Fed’s Jackson Hole gathering
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., today is expected to provide investors with a signal on whether an interest rate cut is coming next month, which could have wide-ranging implications for many parts of the economy.
Reuters broke down how some of the most rate-sensitive stocks have fared since the Fed kicked off its rate-cutting cycle in September 2024:
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Premarket trending tickers: Intuit, WorkDay and AMD
Here’s a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:
Intuit Inc. (INTU) stock fell 6% before the bell on Friday after forecasting first-quarter revenue growth below analysts’ estimates on Thursday.
Workday’s (WDAY) stock dropped on Friday before the bell after the software company raised its full-year subscription revenue forecast on Thursday, but a forecast in line with expectations for the current quarter pushed the human resources software provider’s shares down.
AMD (AMD) shares fell 1% in premarket trading following the news that Nvidia (NVDA) has told partners to halt work on H20 chip for China.
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Zoom stock jumps as Enterprise revenue accelerates
Shares of Zoom (ZM) jumped 5% in premarket trading on Friday after the communications software provider posted earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan highlighted artificial intelligence as a driver of its strong quarter, with its AI agents underpinning profit growth.
The company posted earnings per share of $1.16, compared to Wall Street analyst estimates for $0.72, per S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue rose 5% to $1.2 billion, bolstered by 7% growth in Enterprise revenue. The company’s monthly churn rate remained flat year over year at 2.9%.
Despite Friday’s gain, the stock is still down 10% year to date, underperforming the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) 8% gain.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Meta’s hiring freeze is a Meta problem, not an AI problem
Meta’s (META) absurd AI job offers were a way to overcome its disadvantages, a sign of desperation rather than a show of strength, Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban says in a takeaway from today’s Morning Brief.
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Nvidia stock slides as company freezes H20 work, navigates China pressures ahead of earnings
Shares in Nvidia slid in premarket after the chipmaker reportedly told its suppliers to halt work on production of its China-tailored H20 AI chip.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday that the AI bellwether is in talks with the Trump administration over a potential new semiconductor — the “B30A” — designed for Chinese techs to use.
Nvidia told component suppliers such as Foxconn (2317.TW, HNHPF), Samsung Electronics (SSNLF, 005930.KS), and Amkor Technology (AMKR) to suspend work on the H20, per The Information and Reuters.
Those orders came after Beijing urged Chinese companies to avoid using Nvidia’s AI chip. The move to restrict sales was prompted by what China deemed “insulting” remarks from US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.
Huang was asked about a possible “B30A” semiconductor for AI data centers for China while on a visit to Taiwan on Friday. The Nvidia CEO was there to meet key partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSM), the world’s biggest chip manufacturer.
“I’m offering a new product to China for … AI data centers, the follow-on to H20,” Huang said, according to Reuters.
However, he added: “That’s not our decision to make. It’s up to, of course, the United States government. And we’re in dialogue with them, but it’s too soon to know.”
Nvidia has increasingly found itself having to navigate trade tensions between the US and China amid President Trump’s reshaping of tariff policy.
With the chipmaker set to report second-quarter earnings next week, a key question for Wall Street is whether China will be part of its outlook.
“If NVDA were to include China in its guidance, we believe it would contribute an incremental $2-3 billion in revenue,” KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh wrote in a recent note.
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Meta said to sign over $10 billion cloud services deal with Google
Google has struck a six-year cloud computing deal with Meta Platforms (META) worth more than $10 billion, according to reports late Thursday. It’s the Alphabet-owned (GOOG, GOOGL) search giant’s second big agreement recently, after one with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).
Alphabet shares rose over 1% after the reports. Meanwhile, Meta stock ticked slightly higher to put the megacaps on track for an upbeat Friday to end a rough week for Big Techs.
Reuters reports:
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Bond market rate-cut bets face a Powell reckoning at Jackson Hole
Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech — slated for 10 a.m. ET — has been the focal point for the bond market this week, for good reason. In recent years, Powell has used the occasion to make market-moving policy news, with investors zeroing in on whether Fed chair pushes back on the current pricing for rate cuts.
Bloomberg reports:
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Nvidia puts a pause on production of Chinese H20 chips
Bloomberg reports:
