U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday

Good morning.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday after a sharp selloff last week, with investors awaiting more clues on interest rates from an upcoming gathering of central bank policymakers in Jackson Hole, as well as quarterly report from Nvidia.

Markets will be closely monitoring a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, seeking insights into the economic outlook and the future trajectory of interest rates.

On the earnings front, notable tech players like Zoom, NVIDIA, Baidu, and Snowflake, along with retailers including Lowe’s, Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Gap Inc, are scheduled to release their quarterly results this week. Shares of Palo Alto Networks jumped 12.5% in premarket trading as the cybersecurity firm forecast annual billings above expectations. Shares of its peer CrowdStrike Holdings also gained 3.2%.

China’s Shanghai Composite today closed lower after the central bank cut its key lending rates by a smaller-than-expected margin, while the country’s sluggish economic recovery and property woes continued to weigh on sentiment. In the physical market, premiums on gold in China jumped to the highest level since December 2016.

Amid widespread dissatisfaction with the prevailing world order, the pledge of BRICS nations – currently Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – to make the grouping a leading champion of the “Global South” has, despite a dearth of concrete results, found resonance. Over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining BRICS, say officials from South Africa, which is hosting the Aug. 22-24 summit. Of them, nearly two dozen have formally asked to be admitted.

WTI crude futures rose above $82 per barrel. Gold held below $1,900 an ounce while the yield on the 10-year note was up at 4.28%, and a breach above 4.338% would take it to levels not seen since 2007.

Have a great day!