Tech set for more weakness ahead of Jackson Hole: Markets Wrap

by Andre Janse van Vuuren

US stock futures pointed to more weakness for tech shares on Thursday after days of selling as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s gathering at Jackson Hole.

Nasdaq 100 contracts edged 0.1% lower after a two-day selloff that shaved 2% off the index. Nvidia Corp. rose 0.6% in premarket, with Magnificent Seven peers mixed. European stocks dropped 0.3% to snap a three-day winning streak. US Treasuries fell, with the 10-year rate advancing one basis point to 4.30%. The dollar pared early gains.

This week saw pressure on technology stocks, particularly the largest names, amid worries that their sharp rally since April had advanced too quickly. Traders are staying cautious as the Jackson Hole symposium kicks off later today, with investors awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday for guidance on the path for interest rates.

Markets’ direction today could also be shaped by PMIs, home sales data and Walmart Inc. earnings. For the euro area, the Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by S&P Global grew at the quickest pace in 15 months as manufacturing exited a three-year downturn.

“What we are currently seeing is profit-taking and a natural flight to quality ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole,” said John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cité Gestion. But “let’s not beat around the bush: this is not the end of tech, and even less so for stocks linked to artificial intelligence.”

With swaps pricing in around an 80% chance of a Fed quarter-point cut in September, and at least three more over the next year, some strategists warned that the market may be too optimistic about the pace and depth of easing.

“All it’s going to take is a bit of stickiness in inflation and actually a labor market print which shows it’s not falling off a cliff for the market to say, ‘hang on,’” Karen Ward, chief market strategist for EMEA at JPMorgan Asset Management, told Bloomberg TV.

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 29-30 meeting showed most officials viewed inflation risks as outweighing labor-market concerns, with tariffs fueling a growing divide within the rate-setting committee, though the discussions came before subsequent downward revisions to jobs data.

On the geopolitical front, US Vice President JD Vance said negotiations over ending Russia’s war in Ukraine are focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and territory Russia wants to control — including Ukrainian territory that Russia isn’t occupying — as the US tries to broker a peace deal between the two nations. Brent crude rose 0.8% to the highest in two weeks.

Corporate News:

• Mediobanca SpA shareholders rejected a proposal to acquire Banca Generali SpA in a major setback for Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel and his efforts to ensure his bank’s independence.
• WH Smith Plc lost more than a third of its market value after lowering its profit outlook for this fiscal year following the discovery of an accounting error.
• KKR & Co. has emerged as the lead bidder to buy Nissan Motor Co.’s global headquarters, according to people familiar with the matter.
• Meta temporarily paused some hiring while it does “planning and forecasting,” and structures its new superintelligence efforts, spokesperson Andy Stone said in a X post.
• OpenAI is considering eventually helping other businesses tap into the data centers and physical infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence, potentially creating a new revenue line that could offset some of the ChatGPT maker’s immense costs.
• London builders are taking longer to start home constructions after receiving permits, as a slump in demand threatens to derail the government’s plan to build 1.5 million homes.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3% as of 10:09 a.m. London time
• S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%
• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2%
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.1%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.1656
• The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 147.55 per dollar
• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1813 per dollar
• The British pound was little changed at $1.3470

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.8% to $113,472.84
• Ether fell 2% to $4,268.45

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.30%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 2.73%
• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 4.71%

Commodities

• Brent crude rose 0.9% to $67.44 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 0.2% to $3,340.19 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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