Investors eye the Federal Reserve gathering

U.S. equity-index futures advanced ahead of Friday’s key Federal Reserve gathering that may offer clues about the timeline for tapering stimulus.

The S&P 500 ended Thursday down 26.19 points, or 0.58%, to 4470.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 192.38 points, or 0.54%, to 35213.12. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 96.05 points, or 0.64%, to 14945.81.

Treasury yields edged lower and the dollar slipped as traders awaited Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole symposium, with data on personal consumption and spending before that also on the radar.

European stocks were little changed on Friday morning as investors waited for clues on the timing and scale of a possible rollback of stimulus measures at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole meeting.

Stoxx 600 Europe Index dropped 0.32% on Thursday, DAX dropped by 0.42%, and CAC 40 lost 0.16%, while FTSE 100 fell by 0.35%.

Bunds rose on Friday, snapping a four-day run of declines and Italian bonds also advanced ahead of U.S. PCE deflator numbers and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech. That still leaves German and Italian 10-year yields on course for their biggest weekly climb since May and June, respectively, following Wednesday’s aggressive squeeze higher.

Asian stocks declined, halting a three-day advance, as traders awaited further signals on China’s regulatory crackdown and the Federal Reserve’s plans to start scaling back stimulus.

Oil prices declined on Thursday amid demand concerns following a rise in COVID-19 Delta variant cases.

Brent crude futures price was $71.07 a barrel on Thursday, down 1.63%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures stood at $67.42 down 1.38%.