It remained a mixed, uninspired session on Wednesday, investors choosing to sit on their hands ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium in the second half of the week.
The Dow Jones was one of the less enthusiastic indices, opening down 0.1%. Tomorrow the Dow will have its eyes glued on Jerome Powell’s online speech at the virtual symposium, seeking confirmation of reports that the Federal Reserve is going to soften its stance on inflation in favour of an approach that would look for an average 2% rate across the year, overshooting that target when needed in order to balance out softer months. If so, further monetary stimulus in 2020 arguably moves from possibility to likelihood.
Whether or not Powell at least hints towards this – the proximity of September’s meeting may rule out a full reveal – could make or break what has so far been an incredibly strong August for the index.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still Wednesday, however dull that fact may be. The Eurozone indices were more eager to move than the Dow, with the DAX and CAC rising 0.5% and 0.4% respectively, aided by Germany extending its furlough scheme.
The FTSE, meanwhile, directly echoed the Dow, at most dipping 0.1%. It was a dull performance from an index that might be looking towards Andrew Bailey’s own address on Friday, even if the BoE chief’s speech is less anticipated than Powell’s.
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