By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
PMIs for August to shine a light on economy
The rally in Wall Street stocks looked set to peter out
Wednesday, with trading subdued as investors turned their attention
back to the Jackson Hole meeting of global central bankers.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 34 points,
or 0.2%, to 21,852, erasing parts of Tuesday's gain. The blue chip
benchmark on Tuesday rallied almost 200 points for its biggest gain
since April 25
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-sp-set-for-2nd-day-of-gains-as-rebound-continues-2017-08-22),
after reports President Donald Trump is making progress in shaping
a plan for tax reform.
Futures for the S&P 500 index dropped 5.80 points, or 0.2%,
to 2,447, while those for the Nasdaq-100 index gave up 13.25
points, or 0.2%, to 5,865.25.
The S&P 500 finished 1% higher on Tuesday, while the
tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 1.4%.
After the Tuesday rally, investors appeared to be in a risk-off
mood early Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said late
Tuesday that he's ready to shut down the government to win funding
for a border wall with Mexico
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-threatens-shutdown-over-border-wall-funding-predicts-end-of-nafta-2017-08-22).
Trump, during a rally with his supporters in Arizona, also
warned of the possible termination of the North American Free Trade
Agreement.
Jackson Hole: An event that has been hanging over the market
this week so far, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank's central
bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is now only one day away. A
dearth of potential trading cues has refocused investor attention
on the meeting, which starts Thursday and runs through
Saturday.
"The conference comes at a critical moment for central banks,
especially the ECB and Fed," said Neil Wilson, senior market
analyst at ETX Capital, in a note.
Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi are among top speakers on Friday, with investors
hoping to get hints on the future monetary policy path from both
institutions.
"After years of accommodation, the dial is shifting, albeit
glacially," Wilson said. "We're about to enter uncharted water:
unwinding QE has never been done before, but it's about to be tried
on markets that have this year exhibited a degree of calm that is
worrisome when you consider what may be coming."
See:Here's what investors will be watching when Draghi, Yellen
speak at Jackson Hole
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-investors-will-be-watching-when-draghi-yellen-speak-at-jackson-hole-2017-08-22)
The greenback pulled back on Wednesday in anticipation of the
event, with the ICE Dollar down 0.1% at 93.415.
Economic news: The purchasing managers' indexes, or PMIs, for
services and manufacturing in August are slated for release at 9:45
a.m. Eastern Time. New homes sales for July are on the docket at 10
a.m.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will speak at the Permian
Basin Petroleum Association Membership Luncheon in Midland, Texas
at 1:05 p.m. Eastern.
See:MarketWatch's economic calender
(http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)
Stock movers: Shares of Lowe's Cos. (LOW) lost 5% ahead of the
bell after the home-improvement retailer reported adjusted earnings
and revenue that missed forecasts.
U.S.-listed shares of WPP PLC (WPP.LN) plunged 11% ahead of the
bell after the advertising giant cuts its growth outlook after a
drop in revenue
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wpp-cuts-growth-view-as-client-spending-drops-2017-08-23).
Salesforce.com Inc.(CRM) fell 1.8% premarket even after the
cloud-software company late Tuesday reported earnings that were
better than expected
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/salesforce-beats-on-earnings-and-increases-guidance-but-stock-falls-2017-08-22).
Shares of Intuit Inc. (INTU) could also move after the financial
software provider late Tuesday reported earnings that beat
forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intuit-stock-down-after-hours-on-fourth-quarter-earnings-and-cfo-change-2017-08-22),
but also said its Chief Financial Officer R. Neil Williams will
step down in January.
After Wednesday's closing bell, HP Inc.(HPQ) and PVH Corp.(PVH)
are slated to report.
Other markets: There was no trade in Hong Kong, with the Hang
Seng Index halted as category-10 Typhoon Hato slammed into the area
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kong-stock-market-closed-as-severe-typhoon-hits-2017-08-23).
Other Asian stock markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-gain-despite-jackson-hole-uncertainties-2017-08-22)
closed mostly higher.
European equities were mixed
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-tilt-lower-even-as-factory-activity-stays-strong-2017-08-23),
with the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index grappling for direction
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-wobbles-as-wpp-shares-tumble-2017-08-23)
as the pound plunged.
Oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-slide-as-confusion-over-libyan-production-reigns-2017-08-23)
declined, while gold prices were marginally higher.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 23, 2017 07:32 ET (11:32 GMT)
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