The S&P 500 was little changed Friday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The broader market index dipped 0.03%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.08%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 70 points, or 0.21%.
The major averages were on pace for their second straight down week. The Dow is on track for a 1.2% decline. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are heading to slightly smaller declines of roughly 0.7% each.
All eyes are on Powell’s widely anticipated 10 a.m. ET speech at the central bank’s annual symposium in Wyoming. Traders absorbed one of the Fed’s favorite inflation measures, the personal consumption expenditures data, which on Friday showed price increases eased in July.
Investors are hoping for new guidance about how the Fed will act this autumn, but expectations are lower, with many expecting Powell to reiterate the Fed’s promise to slow inflation by raising interest rates. Wall Street is divided on whether the Fed will bump rates by half a percentage point or three-quarters of a point at its next policy meeting in September.
“I think chair Powell is going to stick to the script, which is, inflation is their number one priority. And that means interest rates higher for longer than the market expects,” said Zach Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments.
“Barring kind of low liquidity and not very many participants, I don’t expect a huge reaction today unless unless chair Powell really says something that is terribly surprising,” Hill added.
Communication services, real estate and energy underperformed in the S&P 500. Meanwhile, financial and utilities outperformed on the broader market index.
Shares of Affirm declined 12% after the consumer lending company issued weak full-year revenue guidance.
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