US Stocks Power Higher – Nasdaq up 1.6%
It continues to be a bit of a roller coaster week for US stocks ahead of Jackson Hole, the major US indices gained again today as the market turned bullish on anticipation that Nvidia would deliver stronger results than expected for last quarter and the company delivered after the close. The Nasdaq led the way higher, closing 1.59%, followed by the S&P which gained 1.10% and the Dow which added 0.54% on the day. Stocks had earlier been encouraged higher as US yields dropped from historic highs after weaker PMI prints from both the US and Europe, whilst currency volatility picked up as majors reacted to those data results, with the dollar eventually finishing lower overall. Gold bounced back well in line with the dollar weakness, trading back up to the $1,920 level having hit lows under $1,890 just a couple of days ago.
From Nvidia to Jackson Hole
In what is a quiet economic calendar week, there were always going to be two main events for investors to focus on, especially from a US perspective – the latest earnings update from AI giant Nvidia and central bank updates from Jackson Hole. US markets have seen volatility on the back of the Nvidia results – and there may even be a bit of a steward’s enquiry on some of that pre-emptive activity earlier in the week – and there is no doubting the effect that the AI industry has had on the market in the last year or so, but expect what we hear from some of the most senior central bankers in the world to have a deeper effect on the market as we move forward. For the next couple of sessions, investors will be happy to jump on the bandwagon and let the good times role but expect concerns on rates to exert themselves as we move closer to hearing from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole on the weekend and markets to react accordingly.
Investors Eyes on Jackson Hole
We still have 5 full trading sessions to get through before we hear from the great and good of the central bank world in Jackson Hole on Friday. However, there are some events scheduled on the macroeconomic calendar that could cause some moves across the market today. The BRICS summit in South Africa is coming to a close today and emerging markets traders will be keeping a close eye on any updates from there. There is little out in the Asian and European sessions today and traders are expecting the positive momentum from the US Day to bolster markets, especially during the Asian time zone. There is some calendar action in the US session with the latest release of the weekly US unemployment claims data and the monthly Durable goods numbers. FOMC member Harker is also set to talk later in the day.
