by Kate Entringer

(Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to rise on Friday and European stocks continued to advance mid-session, as investors position themselves ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium.

New York index futures point to a higher opening for Wall Street, with the Dow Jones expected to advance 0.29%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.45% and the Nasdaq 0.75%.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.59% to 7,568.74 points at around 10:20 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax rose 0.64% and in London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.24%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index is up 0.47%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.28% and the Stoxx 600 0.29%.

After the Fed’s minutes released Wednesday showed that U.S. policymakers were leaning toward a September interest rate cut, Jerome Powell’s speech could offer some guidance on the pace of easing and how the central bank will respond as the economy evolves.

The Fed chairman is due to speak at 1400 GMT at the annual meeting of central bank officials in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

“The question is whether he will go so far as to open the door to a 50 basis point move – if not in September, then later this year,” said Francesco Pesole, a strategist at ING.

Analysts have fully priced in a scenario that the Fed will begin easing monetary policy at its September 17-18 meeting, with a likely 25 basis point rate cut to 74%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Recent data, including weekly jobless claims and wage revisions, have indicated that the U.S. economy is slowing, albeit gradually.

VALUES TO FOLLOW ON WALL STREET

Workday jumped 11% in premarket trading after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter profit and announcing a $1 billion stock buyback plan.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved updated COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna targeting a new variant.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Nestlé fell by 1.70% after announcing the surprise departure of its CEO, Mark Schneider, and his replacement by Laurent Freixe the day before.

BMW, which for the first time sold more electric cars than Tesla in Europe last month, according to market research firm JATO Dynamics, is up 1.23%.

RATE

Bond yields were little changed on Friday, after rising the previous day, as investors maintained their wait-and-see strategy ahead of Jerome Powell’s speech.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell by 0.8 basis points to 3.8539%. The two-year by 0.4 basis points to 4.0061%.

The ten-year German Bund rose by 0.8 basis points to 2.2530% and the two-year Bund by 1.7 basis points to 2.4180%.

CHANGES

The dollar continues to weaken as investors await guidance from the Fed at Jackson Hole.

The US currency fell 0.11% against a basket of benchmark currencies, while the euro gained 0.03% to $1.1117.

OIL

Oil prices edged higher but are on track to end the week lower as weak U.S. jobs data raised concerns about demand and the resumption of ceasefire talks in Gaza eased fears of supply disruptions.

Brent rose 0.8% to $77.86 per barrel, while American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 0.8% to $73.69.

(Some data may be slightly out of date)

(Written by Kate Entringer, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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