The Kansas City Fed’s Economic Policy Symposium begins today in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Investors await Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday, anticipating insights on the central bank’s new policy framework and potential rate cuts. U.S. rate futures show an 81.2% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in September.

Economic data includes S&P Global’s U.S. purchasing managers’ surveys and U.S. Existing Home Sales figures. Forecasts predict a slight dip in the August Manufacturing PMI to 49.7 and a decrease in July’s Services PMI to 54.2. Analysts expect July’s Existing Home Sales to drop slightly to 3.92 million.

Today, the U.S. will also report the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index and Initial Jobless Claims data. Economists project the Philly Fed index to fall to 6.8 in August from 15.9 in July. Initial Jobless Claims are estimated to rise to 226K from 224K last week.

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index for the U.S. will be released today, with a forecast of a -0.1% m/m drop in July. Retail giant Walmart, along with tech companies like Intuit, Workday, and Zoom Video, are set to report their quarterly earnings today. Investors are keen on Walmart’s results following mixed reports from other retailers.

Eurozone’s Composite PMI, Manufacturing PMI, and Services PMI for August have been released, with slightly varied results from expectations. Asian markets settled mixed today, with China’s Shanghai Composite up and Japan’s Nikkei 225 down. Chinese shares surged as the country considers allowing stablecoins to promote its currency’s global adoption. Japanese stocks fell for the third session in a row due to profit-taking, with pharmaceutical and automobile sectors leading the decline.

In pre-market trading, Coty plummeted over -22%, while Nordson surged over +5%. CoreWeave gained more than +3%, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise rose nearly +3%. Notable earnings today include Walmart, Intuit, Workday, Ross Stores, Zoom Video, and more. Market participants are also anticipating a speech from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Stocks Slip Before the Open With Focus on Fed’s Jackson Hole Summit and U.S. PMI Data, Walmart Earnings on Tap