Analyst: Powell's Speech Mainly Affects Long-Term Bond Yields

BlockBeats News, August 28th, US stock index futures showed a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. Investors are awaiting Fed Chair Powell's highly anticipated speech, while tech stock investors started to take profits after NVIDIA's (NVDA.O) sector-leading gains the previous day.

French Bank of Opportunity analyst Rajappa said: "The core PCE data released this week delivered a very clear message that inflation is actually stronger than we expected." "Looking at the data for this year overall, we must consider taking some policy action soon." Historically, the Fed Chair's speech in Jackson Hole has not been a significant catalyst for major stock market movements. Since 2000, without a larger shift in monetary policy, the S&P 500 index has had an average change of only 0.4% in the week following the Jackson Hole meeting.

Apollo Management's Chief Economist Torsten Slok expects that Powell will not provide forward-looking policy guidance on Friday, but long-term yields may see some changes. In a report, he wrote: "Whatever he says about the policy framework and the economy, especially how he views inflation, the unemployment rate, and the neutral rate, could drive changes in long-term yields."