Dow jumps 800 points to record, S&P 500, Nasdaq soar as Powell’s Jackson Hole finale fuels bets on September rate cut
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US stocks soared on Friday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to a September rate cut during his highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 800 points or 1.9% to close at a fresh record, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 1.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed 1.9%. Friday’s surge came on the heels of a downbeat week for markets, as tech stocks took a hit amid AI trade doubts.
Fed Chair Powell raised the prospect of the central bank lowering interest rates in September on Friday, saying in his speech that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”
With the speech touching on both the country’s economic outlook and the Fed’s new policy framework, Powell noted that risks from inflation remain “tilted to the upside,” saying that tariff-related inflation pressures “are now clearly visible.”
His remarks shook up rate-cut bets, which had been waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders on Friday were pricing in about 91.5% odds of a September cut compared to 70% earlier in the morning and 85% a week ago.
Meanwhile, the 10-year (^TNX) and 30-year (^TYX) Treasury yields fell after Powell’s remarks. The commentary also spurred a gain in bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other cryptocurrencies, with ethereum (ETH-USD) leading the crypto gains.
The White House watched Powell’s speech closely, as President Trump has continued to push the Fed and Powell to lower rates. Trump opened a new front in his public pressure campaign on central bank independence by calling for the resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud. On Friday, Trump said he’ll “fire” Cook if she doesn’t resign, though legally, presidents cannot easily dismiss Fed governors.
On the earnings front, Zoom (ZM) stock popped Friday after reporting an AI boost, and Ross Stores (ROST) jumped as shoppers sought discounts amid tariffs. Intuit (INTU) and Workday (WDAY), meanwhile, slid.
Shares of Intel (INTC) jumped 5% after President Trump said the government will take a 10% stake in the ailing chip giant, calling it a “great deal.”
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Dow notches new record, S&P 500, Nasdaq jump as Fed’s Powell signals September rate cut on the table
Stocks jumped with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rising more than 800 points, or 1.9%, to close at a new all-time high record.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rallied 1.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also jumped 1.9%. The Dow and S&P 500 closed out the week with gains after a volatile week following a rotation away from tech stocks and into defensive sectors in anticipation of Powell’s Jackson Hole speech on Friday.
Powell signaled that policy members were open to a September rate cut after disappointing recent labor data, despite signs of inflation due to ongoing tariff policy.
Trump says US enforcement of TikTok divestment law may ‘extend a little bit longer’
Apple, Google stocks climb on report the iPhone maker may use Gemini AI for Siri
Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOG) stocks climbed to session highs midday Friday after Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple is considering using Google’s Gemini to power a revamped version of the Siri voice assistant.
Intel jumps as Trump says US will take 10% stake in Intel
President Trump said his administration will take a 10% stake in ailing chip giant Intel (INTC) on Friday, calling it a “great deal.”
Intel’s stock price rose more than 5% in midday trading.
On Tuesday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that the administration was exploring converting Intel’s funding from the Biden-era CHIPS Act into equity aimed at stabilizing the company’s US manufacturing business.
Intel is dealing with multiple issues across its businesses. Its manufacturing division is bleeding cash, just as its legacy computer chip segment forfeits market share to rivals Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM) in the PC space. Intel is also woefully behind AMD and Nvidia (NVDA) in the AI race.
Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland notes that Fed Chair Jerome Powell outlined the central bank’s renewed focus on the labor market in the months ahead, which has big implications for interest rates this year and beyond:
Opendoor rise more than 20% as even meme stocks rise after Fed Chair Powell’s speech
Opendoor (OPEN) stock rose more than 20% on Friday as even the meme stocks gained after Jerome Powell’s policy speech in Jackson Hole opened the door to rate cuts in September.
Lower interest rates would benefit Opendoor, which has seen meme-like volatility in recent weeks, as well as other iBuyers of homes.
BJ’s Wholesale Club stock drops 8% after sales miss expectations
Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club declined 8% on Friday after fuel prices weighed on the retailer’s second quarter results.
On Friday, the company reported that overall comparable club sales decreased by 0.3% year over year, while comparable sales excluding gasoline increased by 2.3% annually.
Earnings per share of $1.14 topped Wall Street’s estimates, but revenue of $5.38 billion disappointed expectations for $5.48 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence
BJ’s Wholesale also narrowed the range for its earnings outlook. For fiscal 2025, adjusted EPS is expected to range from $4.20 to $4.35 instead of the $4.10 to $4.30 previously forecast.
Trump says he’ll fire Fed governor Lisa Cook if she doesn’t resign
Just as Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole fueled market optimism — following months of social media skewering from President Trump — Trump dialed up pressure on another member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors.
Ethereum leads crypto gains following Powell speech
Ethereum led an upswing in cryptocurrencies as rate cut bets soared after Jerome Powell’s policy speech in Jackson Hole opening the door to rate cuts in September.
Ethereum (ETH-USD) jumped 8.6%, while Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose a modest 2.7%. Solana (SOL-USD) climbed roughly 4%, and XRP (XRP-USD) also jumped around 4%.
Crypto stocks were also on the move, with Strategy (MSTR) shares up 5.7% and Robinhood (HOOD) stock up 4.2%. Crypto exchange platform Coinbase (COIN) soared 6.6%, and stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) shot up 9.6%.
The gains helped pare or reverse losses in those stocks as tech stocks have been beaten down this week by doubts over the sustainability of the AI trade. MSTR and HOOD shares were still set for 2.5% and 3% weekly losses, respectively, and Circle was set for a 4% decline in that time frame.
Chart: How Powell’s speech changed rate cut expectations
As my colleague Laura Bratton noted below, investors rushed to price in near certainty of a September rate cut. Here’s another way to look at how rate cut expectations changed in the wake of Fed Chair Powell’s speech:
Treasury yields fall as investors price in over 90% odds of September rate cut
Treasury yields fell Friday as investors priced in 91.5% odds of a September rate cut from the Federal Reserve following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole.
The 10-year yield (^TNX) fell about 5 basis points to around 4.27%, while the 30-year yield (^TYX) fell more than 3 basis points to 4.89%.
Stocks surge, Dow touches intraday record as rate cut bets rise
Stocks jumped as September rate cut bets jumped Friday amid Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole.
The Dow (^DJI) climbed 1.6% to hit an intraday high of just over 45,548. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) jumped 1.4% to near last week’s record high for the index of 6,449.80. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 1.5% to recover some of its declines as tech stocks have lost steam amid doubts over the AI trade.
Powell in his speech in Jackson Hole on Friday opened the door to rate cuts in September, shaking up rate cut bets, which had been waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders are pricing in about 91.5% odds of a cut late Friday morning compared to 70% earlier in the day and 85% a week ago.
Powell opens door to September rate cut, says economic outlook ‘may warrant’ change in Fed’s stance
Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland and Jennifer Schonberger report:
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell began speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday, where he is delivering what is expected to be his final speech at the annual gathering of central bankers, policymakers, and economists.
Investors will examine Powell’s remarks for clues about the state of the economy and the potential for interest rate cuts next month. The central bank is grappling with whether to hold interest rates steady in September to counter inflation or lower rates in light of weaker labor market data.
Additionally, Powell is expected to describe changes to the central bank’s policy framework. The Fed is expected to drop its average inflation targeting policy, which sets an inflation rate goal for the Fed to achieve over the long run. It was put in place pre-pandemic, when inflation ran low and Fed officials wanted to avoid deflation.
US stocks rose at the open on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole at 10 a.m. ET.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose around 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) inched up nearly 0.1% — with those gains coming after another downbeat day for stocks Thursday.
The US benchmark indexes are still on track for a weekly loss after tech stocks got beaten up by AI trade doubts.
Nio stock rises after the Tesla rival unveils affordable SUV
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NIO) revealed its new ES8 SUV on Thursday, sending US-listed shares of the Tesla (TSLA) rival 5% higher in premarket trading on Friday. The stock was the No. 1 trending ticker on Yahoo Finance on Friday morning.
The SUV is one of Nio’s most affordable yet, with prices starting at 308,800 yuan (approximately $43,000) with a battery subscription plan. The plan allows customers to pay lower upfront costs for the vehicle and then upgrade batteries for a monthly fee.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late September.
US sectors in spotlight ahead of Fed’s Jackson Hole gathering
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., today is expected to provide investors with a signal on whether an interest rate cut is coming next month, which could have wide-ranging implications for many parts of the economy.
Reuters broke down how some of the most rate-sensitive stocks have fared since the Fed kicked off its rate-cutting cycle in September 2024:
Intuit Inc. (INTU) stock fell 6% before the bell on Friday after forecasting first-quarter revenue growth below analysts’ estimates on Thursday.
Workday’s (WDAY) stock dropped on Friday before the bell after the software company raised its full-year subscription revenue forecast on Thursday, but a forecast in line with expectations for the current quarter pushed the human resources software provider’s shares down.
AMD (AMD) shares fell 1% in premarket trading following the news that Nvidia (NVDA) has told partners to halt work on H20 chip for China.
Zoom stock jumps as Enterprise revenue accelerates
Shares of Zoom (ZM) jumped 5% in premarket trading on Friday after the communications software provider posted earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan highlighted artificial intelligence as a driver of its strong quarter, with its AI agents underpinning profit growth.
The company posted earnings per share of $1.16, compared to Wall Street analyst estimates for $0.72, per S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue rose 5% to $1.2 billion, bolstered by 7% growth in Enterprise revenue. The company’s monthly churn rate remained flat year over year at 2.9%.
Despite Friday’s gain, the stock is still down 10% year to date, underperforming the S&P 500’s (^GSPC) 8% gain.
