US open: Stocks higher following Powell's Jackson Hole speech

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the green early on Friday as market participants turned their attention to Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's remarks at the central bank's Wyoming economic symposium.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.02% at 41,128.21, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.23% to 5,639.15 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.77% firmer at 17,931.28.

The Dow opened 415.43 points higher on Friday, more than reversing losses recorded in the previous session as surging Treasury yields weighed on stocks.

Friday's primary focus was Powell's comments from Jackson Hole, with the central bank head stating that while the task was not complete, the Fed has made "a good deal of progress", stating that has confidence has grown that inflation was on a sustainable path back to 2%.

"The labour market has cooled considerably from its formerly overheated state," he said. "The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data."

Powell also said the Federal Reserve was "utterly committed to avoiding" the long-lasting inflation of the 1970s and suggested that he thinks a "soft landing" without a recession was possible.

Elsewhere on the macro front, new home sales soared 10.6% to 739,000 in July, according to the Census Bureau, the sharpest increase since August 2022 and well above market expectations for a much more muted 1% uptick.

In the corporate space, Uber shares were in the after the rideshare giant announced a multiyear partnership with General Motors, while retailer Ross Stores rallied after posting a quarterly earnings beat.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $20.69 2.96%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $263.99 2.09%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $330.68 1.90%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $507.09 1.88%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.52 1.83%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $347.87 1.61%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $371.07 1.56%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.19 1.55%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $227.71 1.42%
Boeing Co. (BA) $175.13 1.37%