US stock index futures firmed on Friday ahead of a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium that could indicate the direction of interest rate moves by the central bank at its September meeting.
Powell is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at a research conference that will include participation from leading central banks.
Investors will be watching for signs of a dovish move in the comments to come. However, Michael Hewson of CMC Markets doesn't see that happening.
"As we know from recent comments from various Fed officials, the Fed believes that the fight against inflation is not yet over, and in this context, it is unlikely that Powell will deliver any dovish surprises," he said.
A string of strong economic data, including last week's drop in jobless claims, have pointed to strong consumer demand and a tight labor market, dampening hopes that the Fed may be nearing the end of its rate hike cycle.
On the other hand, the 10-year bond also rose for the second day. Traders' bets that the Fed will pause its rate hike in September fell to 80.5% from 89% a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool
The Nasdaq has risen 1.3% this week, partly due to an increase in profits in the second quarter, among them Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which reported on Wednesday.
Shares of Nvidia fell 0.2% in pre-market trading on Friday after nearly erasing all of their gains in the previous session as some traders took profits.
Shares of Marvell (NASDAQ:MRVL) Technology Inc fell 3.5% after the chip designer reported a drop in second-quarter earnings, hurt by a weak corporate market.
Hawaiian Electric fell 23.6% after the province of Maui demanded the energy company and S&P downgrade its credit rating due to an investigation into its role in the Maui wildfires.
Nordstorm fell 2.0% as the department store chain left expectations unchanged due to "cautious consumers".
