US stock futures wobbled in morning trading Tuesday ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated public appearance in Washington, DC, scheduled for early Tuesday afternoon. .
Futures linked to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1%, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell by roughly the same margin. Tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) contracts were down 0.2%.
Powell is scheduled to be interviewed by billionaire Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein at the Economic Club in Washington, DC, around 12:40 pm ET.
Investors largely expect the US central bank chief to strike a hawkish tone in his comments after markets cheered his indication of “disinflation” in the economy after the Fed’s rate-setting meeting last week and after Friday’s jobs report showed payrolls increased by 517,000 in January.
“If the Fed is not happy with the way the market interpreted last week’s meeting, then this is the opportunity for them to try to address things,” Quant Insight’s head of analysis Huw Roberts said in a statement. note. “This will be a critical speech. Even if it doesn’t say anything of interest, that’s important. More benign neglect from Powell will be seen as a green light for risk assets to continue to rally.”
In other central bank news, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a more than 10-year high of 3.35%, taking a cue from the US Federal Reserve’s move. . last week.
Back in the US stock market, shares of Chinese search engine Baidu (BIDU) rose 14% pre-market after indicating it is on track to introduce its ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence service in March.
The wild swings continued for the Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) meme stock. Shares plunged nearly 27% before the open after the embattled retailer announced plans to raise $1 billion through a stock offering. The drop follows a rise of as much as 120% on Monday.
Shares of educational technology company Chegg (CHGG) plunged 24% in extended trading on the heels of disappointing executive guidance on sales expectations.
Shares of Pinterest (PINS) fell 2.5% after the platform reported quarterly revenue on Monday night that missed Wall Street estimates, renewing concerns about a weak ad market.
Stock markets have been bullish in 2023, with risk sentiment fueled by expectations that declining housing and manufacturing data and a cooling of inflation would prompt the Federal Reserve to pause and even cut rates sooner than expected.
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Chairman Neel Kashkari said during an interview with CNBC Tuesday morning that Friday’s shocking jobs data suggests he and his central bank colleagues need to stay the course in the fight against inflation.
“We know that raising rates can curb inflation,” Kashkari said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We need to aggressively raise rates to put a ceiling on inflation, then let monetary policy work its way through the economy.”
—
Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
Click here to see the latest stock price trends from the Yahoo Finance platform
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including the events that move stocks.
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Download the Yahoo Finance app to Apple either Android
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, instagram, flip board, LinkedInand Youtube