LIVEUpdated 52 mins ago
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq moderate as markets digest Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech
Grace O’Donnell and Jake Conley
Updated Fri, 28 August 2026 at 10:42 pm GMT+5:30
1 min read
US stocks moderated from earlier gains in midday trading on Friday as investors digested Kevin Warsh’s first keynote address at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium, with the Fed chairman’s comments interpreted as mildly hawkish in the near term
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped below the flat line, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slide 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined by 0.4% after rising by as much as 0.5% earlier in the day
In his speech, Warsh stated that inflation was running too high and that price stability would be the Fed’s predominant focus. Even if market participants didn’t necessarily get all of the clarity they were looking for, Warsh’s comments were taken as hawkish enough to send yields on short-term Treasurys higher by several basis points
In the equities market, investors continued to digest Nvidia’s (NVDA) blowout earnings report and growth projections from Wednesday, while shares in Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell on its own second quarter figures. PayPal (PYPL) lost more than 10% on the news that Advent and Stripe have backed out of a proposed $50 billion takeover
Upward revisions in the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment readings, released at 10 a.m. ET, provided a lightly positive note for the economy
LIVE11 updates
- 52 mins ago
Grace O’DonnellPayPal stock slides after Stripe, Advent reportedly abandon takeover bid
PayPal (PYPL) stock slid 12% on Friday after payment processor Stripe (STRI.PVT) and private equity firm Advent abandoned a deal to acquire the payments giant
The group began pursuing PayPal earlier this year and had reportedly bid $60.50 a share to buy the company, valuing it at roughly $53 billion. PayPal balked at that offer and sought a higher price
PayPal stock is now down 7% year to date, compared to a 12% gain for the S&P 500 (^GSPC). The company has been working on a turnaround plan under new CEO Enrique Lores, who took the top spot at the company in March
“Our Board and management team are open and have a clear responsibility to objectively evaluate every opportunity that is presented to us, compare it with our own plan, and choose the option that creates more value,” Lores said on the company’s latest earnings call in late July. “Today, because of all the work that we have done over the last three months and because of the status of the business, we have a very clear view of the value that we can create in the coming years. And at this point, while we remain open, our focus is on executing our own strategic plan, given the confidence that we have in creating value for shareholders.”
- Today at 4:04 PM UTC
Jake ConleyTim Cook is set to cap off a 15-year run as Apple CEO on Monday
Monday, Aug. 31, marks Tim Cook’s last day as chief executive of Apple (AAPL), a position he’s held since taking over in 2011 following the death of Steve Jobs
In that time, the chief executive has overseen a dramatic expansion of Apple’s market capitalization from about $350 billion to more than $4 trillion. But that’s not to say critics haven’t identified misses
It would be an understatement to say that Cook’s tenure as Apple CEO has been a success
“By any traditional metric, Tim performed extraordinarily well,” Harvard Business School professor and former Intel board member David Yoffie told Yahoo Finance
Cook wasn’t the CEO when Apple initially launched the iPhone in 2007 — that was Jobs — but he has transformed the business segment nonetheless, making it the engine that has powered Apple’s continued growth over the years
“He took the iPhone, which was already a successful product by the time he [became] CEO, and [turned] it into the most successful product in world history,” Yoffie said
…
While Cook has transformed Apple into a juggernaut, critics have also pointed to the lack of an iPhone successor as a sign that the company isn’t innovating
- Today at 3:04 PM UTC
Stocks move upward after Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech
Stocks turned well into the green on Friday as investors digested Kevin Warsh’s first Jackson Hole keynote address as Fed Chair
The Dow (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) picked up roughly 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.5% to lead gains
DJI – Free Realtime QuoteUSD
(^DJI)
53,556.19-13.25(-0.02%)
As of 14:04:48 GMT-4. Market open.
^DJI^GSPC^IXIC
Advanced chartIn the roughly 30-minute speech, interpreted by the bond market as somewhat hawkish in the short-term, Kevin Warsh reiterated that, with inflation well above the Fed’s 2% target, “The Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
“None of these measures are perfect, but they all tell a similar story: Inflation is running above our 2% target,” Warsh said. “So the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
In the wake of those comments, yields on short-dated two-year Treasury bonds spiked by roughly 8 basis points, while those on the longer-dated 10-year note and 30-year bond fell
- Today at 2:38 PM UTC
Jake ConleyYields on short-dated Treasurys jump as market interprets a near-term hawkish outlook from Warsh
Yields on short-dated two-year Treasury notes rose by roughly 8 basis points as Fed chair Kevin Warsh spoke in Jackson Hole, while those on longer-dated 30-year bond fell by roughly 1.5 basis points
In the middle of the duration line, the 10-year yield — perhaps the most important macroeconomic number for the US economy, the benchmark for a variety of lending services — rose by 2 basis points
The change in bonds as Warsh speaks — rising short-term yields and falling long-term yields — is called a “bear flattener,” when the spread between short-term and long-term yields closes
The movement indicates that the market is repricing the expected path of Fed policy upward as traders evaluate a more hawkish near-/medium-term rate path outlook from Warsh, even as long-term expectations moderate
- Today at 2:23 PM UTC
Warsh: ‘I am impressed by the overall performance of the economy’
Warsh is “impressed by the overall performance of the economy,” the Fed chair said on Friday
“For my part, today I am impressed by the overall performance of the economy, which appears to have strengthened,” Warsh said. “One indicator of strength is how well an economy holds up to shocks. On that score, both Main Street and Wall Street have been remarkably resilient.”
The comments from the head of the Fed come as market participants stare down a range of economic pressures, from persistently high yields on the long end of the Treasury curve to geopolitical tensions and persistent inflation
Despite all of that, the AI investment boom has kept equities near all-time highs
- Today at 2:16 PM UTC
Jake ConleyWarsh: ‘The Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices’
In his first keynote address in Jackson Hole as Federal Reserve chairman, Kevin Warsh is set to say that with inflation running above 2%, “the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
“One of these measures are perfect, but they all tell a similar story: Inflation is running above our 2% target,” Warsh will say, per a copy of his speech released by the Fed. “So the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
The most recent PCE inflation reading — the Fed’s preferred metric for price change — showed that the 12-month change in prices stands at 3.7%, with the so-called core annual measure reading at 3.3%
- Today at 1:36 PM UTC
Jake ConleyStocks open on mixed footing ahead of Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech
The US stock market opened the trading session on mixed footing, with all eyes turned toward Jackson Hole, where Kevin Warsh will deliver his first keynote as Fed Chair
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3% and the SP 500 (^GSPC) picked up 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell 0.1%
DJI – Free Realtime QuoteUSD
(^DJI)
53,556.19-13.25(-0.02%)
As of 14:04:48 GMT-4. Market open.
^DJI^GSPC^IXIC
Advanced chartIn the bond market — in focus with today’s agenda — yields across the curve rose by roughly half a basis point, a cautionary move as investors awaited Warsh’s words at 10 a.m. ET
Elsewhere in the stock market, shares in Marvell Technology (MRVL) sank by 7% after its Thursday earnings report, while PayPal (PYPL) fell 13% after news that Advent and Stripe had abandoned a proposed $50 billion takeover of the payment platform behemoth
- Today at 11:00 AM UTC
Jared BlikreBitcoin and Cathie Wood are partying like it’s 2021 again
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and the Ark Innovation Fund (ARKK) are both up more than 20% in August, something that has happened only four other times since Cathie Wood launched her flagship ETF in 2014
The pairing brings back memories
Late 2020 and early 2021 were the age of zero interest rates, stimulus checks, SPACs, meme stocks, crypto millionaires, and seemingly every company finding a way to put “innovation” in its pitch deck. ARKK became one of the defining trades of the era
Bitcoin was right there with it
Now that old duo is leading again. ARKK was already among Wall Street’s riskiest trades outperforming earlier this month, while bitcoin accelerated after breaking out of a months-long range last week
Both bitcoin and ARKK are gaining over 20% in August. · Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace - Today at 10:00 AM UTC
Grace O’DonnellWhat’s at stake for markets ahead of Kevin Warsh’s speech
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s keynote speech on Friday could be a market-moving event, but Warsh may not say what the market wants to hear
Sevens Report Research Founder Tom Essaye noted that Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech “could create a solid pullback” in stocks if it doesn’t communicate very much on his stance on inflation or the path of interest rates
People are already nervous about the Fed, with long-dated Treasury yields remaining elevated, Essaye continued
“We don’t know what’s going on for the first time in well over a decade,” Essaye told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday. “And part of the elevated yields is Fed uncertainty. So I think Warsh needs to come out and give a very strong response on inflation but also signal to the market that he’s not interested in sort of starting an extended rate-hike campaign.”
“If he can do that and provide a little bit more clarity on what he’s looking at to make rate decisions, I think that the market can breathe a sigh of relief,” Essaye said
- Today at 9:00 AM UTC
Grace O’DonnellGood morning. Here’s what’s happening today
Economic data:MNI Chicago PMI, August (57.6 previously); U. Mich. sentiment, August final reading (51 previously); U. Mich. current conditions, August final reading (51.8 previously); U. Mich. expectations, August final reading (50.6 previously); U. Mich. 1-year inflation, August final reading (4.3% previously); U. Mich. 5-10 year inflation, August final reading (3.3% previously); Kansas City Fed services activity, August (14 previously)
Earnings calendar:No notable earnings
Catch up on the latest stories from overnight:
Alphabet stock sheds $700B as AI bills climb
Nvidia pauses revenue-sharing deals with AI cloud companies
Record corporate profits taken from customer tariff refunds
US in talks with Venezuela to take major stake in oil fields
- Today at 8:00 AM UTC
Grace O’DonnellGold holds near $4,600 as investors focus on Fed rate-hike path
Bloomberg reports:
Gold steadied near $4,600 an ounce as investors weighed the outlook for US interest rates ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh
Bullion was little changed after adding 0.2% in the previous session but remained on track for its biggest monthly gain since 1999. The metal was given fresh impetus by the US Treasury’s surprise intervention in the bond market, which revived interest in the so-called debasement trade that helped power gold’s record-breaking rally last year
Investors will be seeking clues to the Fed’s approach to inflation when Warsh makes his first major speech as chairman later on Friday. The much-anticipated address at the central bank’s annual Jackson Hole symposium offers Warsh an opportunity to counter criticism that he hasn’t been forthright with his views on the economy
Economists and policymakers are divided over the need to hike rates in the coming months, which would be a headwind for non-yielding gold. Though Fed officials kept borrowing costs unchanged in July, three dissented in favor of a quarter-point hike
