Wall Street set for higher open as spotlight turns to Powell
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Jackson Hole speech begins at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT)
GM up after Cruise to offer robotaxis on Uber's platform
Workday jumps after Q2 revenue beat, $1 bln share buyback plan
Futures up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 500 0.53%, Nasdaq 0.78%
Updated at 8:15 a.m. ET/ 1215 GMT
By Medha Singh and Johann M Cherian
Aug 23 (Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on Friday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that investors expect will offer hintson the pace of rate cuts in the world's biggest economy.
While minutes from the Fed's July meeting this week showed a number of policymakers were ready to consider rate cuts come September, Powell's speech could offer insights on the pace of easing and how the central bank will respond as the economy evolves.
Powell is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) at the annual global gathering of central bank officials at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in Wyoming.
Traders have fully priced in a scenario where the Fed begins easing interest rates at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, with a 71.5% chance ofa 25-basis-point cut over a 50 bps cut, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
"The market has been predicting the first rate cut to start going back to March of this year and investors have been disappointed multiple times," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.
"The only question is by how much and, unlike the sprinters in the Olympics, the Fed will not explode out of the blocks with a 50-basis-point cut."
Recent data including weekly jobless claims and payrolls revisions signaled the U.S. economy was slowing, albeit gradually, assuaging fears over a sharp downturn.
That has helped Wall Street's three main indexes recover from a plunge earlier this month triggered by a dour July employment report and yen carry trade. The S&P 500 .SPX is now about 1.8% away from a record high touched in mid-July, after falling as much as 9.7% from that level.
At 08:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 161 points, or 0.39%, while S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.53%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 153.25 points, or 0.78%.
Chip stocks such as Nvidia NVDA.O, Broadcom AVGO.O and Qualcomm QCOM.O climbed more than 1% each intrading before the bell, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session. The Philadelphia chip index .SOX notched its biggest daily drop in three weeks on Thursday.
Rate-sensitive growth stocks such as Apple AAPL.O climbed 0.7%, while Amazon.com AMZN.O and Tesla TSLA.O rose about 1% each, looking to bounce back from Thursday's losses.
Workday WDAY.O shares jumped 15% after the human resource software provider beat market expectations for second-quarter revenue and announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan.
Cruise will offer its autonomous vehicles on ride-hailing platform Uber UBER.N starting next year, the companies said, as the General Motors-backed GM.N robotaxi firm attempts a comeback, sending shares of the automaker up 1.1%.
Ross Stores ROST.O gained 5.7% after the discount retailer raised its fiscal 2024 profit forecast.
Later in the day, data from the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau is expected to show new home sales steadied in July after hitting a seven-month low in June.
Energy and tech sector have lagged S&P 500 so far this week https://tmsnrt.rs/3AA7YLr
Reporting by Medha Singh and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
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