Wall Street Futures decline as investors remain on edge ahead of Jackson Hole symposium

Wall Street Futures decline as investors remain on edge ahead of Jackson Hole symposium.

Wall Street futures edged lower on Thursday as investors awaited policy cues from the US Federal Reserve’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, where Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday.

The three-day conference begins Thursday and traders are closely watching Powell’s remarks for signals on a possible rate cut in September, particularly after signs of weakness in the US job market.

Investor sentiment was also weighed ahead of earnings announcement from Walmart, whose shares fell 2.51 percent in premarket trade. Reports from other major retailers, including Target and Home Depot earlier this week, have given a mixed view, with markets also assessing the impact of US tariffs on holiday sales later this year.

At around 5 pm IST, futures linked to the S&P 500 were down 0.32 percent, those on the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.08 percent, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.32 percent, pointing to a muted start for Wall Street.

Technology stocks, including Nvidia, AMD, Palantir and Meta, saw sharp declines earlier this week on valuation concerns and rising regulatory scrutiny from Washington. Analysts said the sell-off also reflected investors reducing exposure to high-growth names after strong gains since April.

European markets traded in the red, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.34 percent, Germany’s DAX lower by 0.22 percent and France’s CAC 40 shedding 0.57 percent.

In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite closed higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended lower.

Back home, domestic equities extended gains for the sixth straight session on Thursday. Sensex climbed 142.87 points, or 0.17 percent, to settle at 82,000.71. During the day, it had rallied 373.33 points to a high of 82,231.17. The broader rose 33.20 points, or 0.13 percent, to finish at 25,083.75.

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