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Happy Friday. Stock futures were mixed as investors looked to the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium, where Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is set to speak.
Thierry Wizman, global FX and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said Warsh is likelier to give a structurally hawkish speech — rather than a dovish one — at Jackson Hole.
“A dovish speech would cut against the grain of the drift in the median FOMC voter, would ignore the hawkish tone coming from other central banks, and would even ignore the high and sticky US inflation data,” he said.
“But a more balanced speech, highlighting the structurally adverse narratives around global conflict, deglobalization, adverse demographic trends, climate change, etc., would be more in line with the recent zeitgeist, and would bring Warsh back into the mainstream fold.”
“It would also lend the Fed some ‘credibility’ again,” Wizman added. “The USD could rally, and the curve would flatten, even to the point that it helps stocks get a lift.”
Stocks closed higher Thursday, Aug. 27, driven by strong gains in the technology sector.
