US – (Special Correspondent / Web Desk) – The U.S. dollar hovered just below a one-week high on Thursday, while Asian stocks were mixed as investors braced for three days of potentially market-moving signals from the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole.
Central bankers from around the world are set to attend the event, beginning later in the day. All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday, as traders look for clues on the likelihood of a September rate cut.
Equities have shown strong momentum recently, with Australia’s benchmark (.AXJO) climbing 0.9% to a record high.
Some indexes lost ground but remain close to recent peaks. Japan’s Nikkei (.N225), which hit an all-time high on Tuesday, slipped 0.6%.
South Korea’s KOSPI (.KS11) rebounded 0.7% after falling to a six-week low on Wednesday. The index is still near a four-year peak set on July 31.
“I remain an equity bull and a buyer of dips,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. “The recent pullback is just froth coming off the market. Strong earnings growth, a resilient economy, and calmer trade tensions should keep equities moving higher, while potential Fed easing could add support.”
Mainland Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) rose 0.7%, though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (.HSI) edged down 0.1%.
In Europe, pan-regional STOXX 50 futures added 0.1%.
U.S. futures were subdued, with Nasdaq futures up 0.1% after a 0.7% drop in the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) overnight. S&P 500 futures were flat, following a 0.2% dip in the cash index (.SPX).
Powell has signalled caution on cutting rates due to expected tariff-driven price pressures this summer.
Traders initially raised bets on a September cut after weak payrolls data earlier this month, with confidence strengthened by consumer price numbers showing limited inflation from tariffs. But a hotter-than-expected producer price report last week muddied the outlook.
Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, released overnight, showed most policymakers favoured keeping rates steady, with only Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller supporting a cut.
Markets responded by trimming the odds of a quarter-point September cut to 80%, down from 84% the previous day. Traders are currently pricing in about 53 basis points of easing for the remainder of the year.
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Meanwhile, President Donald Trump renewed pressure on the Fed. Earlier this week, he criticised Powell for holding rates steady, and on Wednesday, he called for Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign over allegations linked to her property mortgages in Georgia and Michigan.
Cook rejected the demand, saying she had “no intention of being bullied to step down.”
“Trump’s push to confirm Stephen Miran could add another vote for cuts in September,” said Rodrigo Catril, strategist at National Australia Bank. “If Cook were forced out, four of seven Fed board members could favour lower rates.”
Trump nominated Miran, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, to the Fed earlier this month after Adriana Kugler resigned unexpectedly.
The dollar has largely taken these developments in stride. The dollar index held steady at 98.281 on Thursday, just below Wednesday’s one-week high of 98.441.
U.S. two-year Treasury yields, sensitive to Fed expectations, inched up to 3.7518%, while 10-year yields were steady at 4.2926%.
Japanese government bond yields also climbed, with the 20-year yield rising to 2.655%, its highest since 1999. The 10-year yield hit 1.610%, its peak since 2008, as investors grew wary of higher fiscal spending amid political pressure on Japan’s prime minister.
The dollar was little changed at 147.38 yen.
The euro and sterling also traded flat, at $1.1645 and $1.3454, respectively.
Gold slipped 0.3% to about $3,338 an ounce.
Oil prices inched higher after larger-than-expected declines in U.S. crude and fuel inventories reinforced expectations of steady demand.
Brent crude futures rose 0.5% to $67.16 a barrel after a 1.6% gain the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 0.5% to $63.05, building on Wednesday’s 1.4% increase.
Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Edwina Gibbs
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