US stocks pushed higher on Friday with all eyes on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose nearly 1.5%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 1.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed 1.3% — all on the heels of s downbeat day for stocks.

The US benchmark indexes are on track for a weekly loss after tech stocks got beaten up by AI trade doubts.

Wall Street is looking to Jackson Hole for whether Powell signals an interest rate cut is coming next month, amid division among Fed rate-setters about the path of monetary policy.

His remarks are likely to shake up rate-cut bets, already waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders are losing faith in an easing in September, pricing in about 70% odds of a cut on Friday, compared with 85% a week ago.

The Fed chair speech began at 10 a.m. ET and could potentially shape monetary policy for years to come.

The White House will be watching as closely as Wall Street as President Trump continues to push the Fed and Powell to lower rates. Trump this week opened a new front in his public pressure campaign, with a call for the resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud.

On the earnings front, Zoom (ZM) stock popped Friday after reporting an AI boost, and Ross Stores (ROST) jumped as shoppers sought discounts amid tariffs. Intuit (INTU) and Workday (WDAY), meanwhile, slid.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell began speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyo., on Friday, where he is delivering what is expected to be his final speech at the annual gathering of central bankers, policymakers, and economists.

You can watch his remarks live below or on our livestream here:

Investors will examine Powell's remarks for clues about the state of the economy and the potential for interest rate cuts next month. The central bank is grappling with whether to hold interest rates steady in September to counter inflation or lower rates in light of weaker labor market data.

Pressure from the Trump administration to slash rates has also ramped up in recent months, with President Trump regularly calling on Powell to ease Fed policy.

Additionally, Powell is expected to describe changes to the central bank’s policy framework. The Fed is expected to drop its average inflation targeting policy, which sets an inflation rate goal for the Fed to achieve over the long run. It was put in place pre-pandemic, when inflation ran low and Fed officials wanted to avoid deflation.

Read more here about Powell's speech.

Yahoo Finance's Dan Howley reports:

Nvidia (NVDA) is working with the US government to bring a follow up to its H20 chip to China, CEO Jensen Huang told reporters while traveling in Taiwan. The new chip would be based on Nvidia's Blackwell architecture but not as powerful as the B200 AI processor the company sells to US companies and abroad.

\\"I'm offering a new product to China for...AI data centers, the follow-on to the H20,\\" Huang said while acknowledging that the Trump administration would have to approve the move.

\\"That's not our decision to make. It's up to, of course, the United States government. And we're in dialogue with them, but it's too soon to know.\\"

Nvidia shares fell nearly 1% Friday morning, on track for a nearly 4% weekly loss.

Read the full story here.

US stocks rose at the open on Friday as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole at 10 a.m. ET.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose around 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) inched up nearly 0.1% — with those gains coming after another downbeat day for stocks Thursday.

The US benchmark indexes are still on track for a weekly loss after tech stocks got beaten up by AI trade doubts.

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NIO) revealed its new ES8 SUV on Thursday, sending US-listed shares of the Tesla (TSLA) rival 5% higher in premarket trading on Friday. The stock was the No. 1 trending ticker on Yahoo Finance on Friday morning.

The SUV is one of Nio's most affordable yet, with prices starting at 308,800 yuan (approximately $43,000) with a battery subscription plan. The plan allows customers to pay lower upfront costs for the vehicle and then upgrade batteries for a monthly fee.

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in late September.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech in Jackson Hole, Wyo., today is expected to provide investors with a signal on whether an interest rate cut is coming next month, which could have wide-ranging implications for many parts of the economy.

Reuters broke down how some of the most rate-sensitive stocks have fared since the Fed kicked off its rate-cutting cycle in September 2024:

Homebuilders: Rising rate cut expectations have renewed interest in housing stocks in recent months, and the index is on track for its biggest one-month jump since July 2024. However, analysts have warned that multiple interest rate cuts are needed to fully revive the sector.

Banks: The picture is more complicated for banks. Lenders usually make more money when interest rates rise because they can charge borrowers more for loans. But if competition for deposits heats up, banks may need to raise the interest they pay to savers, which pushes up their funding costs and eats into profits.

Small caps: Small-cap companies are largely reliant on external borrowing to fund their operations, and lower borrowing costs increase their available capital. Lower rates could also enable smaller companies to refinance their existing debt more cheaply, enabling them to then direct a chunk of their earnings to fuel growth and expansion.

Utilities: Shares of utility providers are often traded as bond proxies, given their steady stream of earnings regardless of the economic situation. The sector has enjoyed gains of late as government bond yields fell on growing expectations of Fed rate cuts.

Retailers: Lower borrowing costs typically boost consumer spending, which makes up about 70% of the US economy. That's good news for retailers. During the first quarter, the S&P 500 consumer discretionary index log its biggest quarterly decline since March 2022, when the Fed began its last rate-hiking cycle.

Read more here.

Here's a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:

Intuit Inc. (INTU) stock fell 6% before the bell on Friday after forecasting first-quarter revenue growth below analysts' estimates on Thursday.

Workday's (WDAY) stock dropped on Friday before the bell after the software company raised its full-year subscription revenue forecast on Thursday, but a forecast in line with expectations for the current quarter pushed the human resources software provider’s shares down.

AMD (AMD) shares fell 1% in premarket trading following the news that Nvidia (NVDA) has told partners to halt work on H20 chip for China.

Shares of Zoom (ZM) jumped 5% in premarket trading on Friday after the communications software provider posted earnings that beat Wall Street estimates and raised its full-year outlook.

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan highlighted artificial intelligence as a driver of its strong quarter, with its AI agents underpinning profit growth.

The company posted earnings per share of $1.16, compared to Wall Street analyst estimates for $0.72, per S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue rose 5% to $1.2 billion, bolstered by 7% growth in Enterprise revenue. The company's monthly churn rate remained flat year over year at 2.9%.

Despite Friday's gain, the stock is still down 10% year to date, underperforming the S&P 500's (^GSPC) 8% gain.

Economic data: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

Earnings: BJ's Wholesale (BJ), Buckle (BKE)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

The stage is set for Powell's final Jackson Hole speech

Meta, Google sign $10 billion cloud services megadeal

Nvidia tells partners to halt work on H20 chip for China, stock falls

Traders need a green light from Powell to keep stocks rallying

Nvidia in talks with US over a new chip for China: CEO Huang

Nike eyes China growth, with outdoor sports revamp at the center

Musk tried to enlist Zuckerberg to help fund his bid for OpenAI

Meta's (META) absurd AI job offers were a way to overcome its disadvantages, a sign of desperation rather than a show of strength, Yahoo Finance's Hamza Shaban says in a takeaway from today's Morning Brief.

Meta has trumpeted its AI expenditures as proof of its commitment and a reflection of its grand ambitions. In turn, the market applauded.

Only Nvidia (NVDA), the chip company supplying the tech platforms, has performed better this year. Meta shares are up more than 25%, outmaneuvering Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT), tickers with a more natural AI fit and a technological head start.

Now CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly turned off the spigot. No more 10-year, $252 million A-Rod-style contracts. Worse than the end of the big money contracts, though, is the reason Meta had to offer them in the first place. ...

Rather than reading Zuck's AI reshuffling and hiring pullback as a bearish signal for the AI trade, it's worth considering a simpler interpretation: This is another sign of Meta's AI dysfunction.

As John Herrman, New York Magazine tech columnist, told Yahoo Finance in a live interview and wrote in a column of his own this week, Meta having to spend all that money to attract AI talent stems from a company culture increasingly perceived as hostile to its workers, lacking a clear vision, and with bumbling strategies.

Read more here.

Shares in Nvidia slid in premarket after the chipmaker reportedly told its suppliers to halt work on production of its China-tailored H20 AI chip.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Friday that the AI bellwether is in talks with the Trump administration over a potential new semiconductor — the \\"B30A\\" — designed for Chinese techs to use.

Nvidia told component suppliers such as Foxconn (2317.TW, HNHPF), Samsung Electronics (SSNLF, 005930.KS), and Amkor Technology (AMKR) to suspend work on the H20, per The Information and Reuters.

Those orders came after Beijing urged Chinese companies to avoid using Nvidia's AI chip. The move to restrict sales was prompted by what China deemed \\"insulting\\" remarks from US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick.

Huang was asked about a possible “B30A” semiconductor for AI data centers for China while on a visit to Taiwan on Friday. The Nvidia CEO was there to meet key partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSM), the world's biggest chip manufacturer.

“I’m offering a new product to China for ... AI data centers, the follow-on to H20,” Huang said, according to Reuters.

However, he added: \\"That’s not our decision to make. It’s up to, of course, the United States government. And we’re in dialogue with them, but it’s too soon to know.”

Nvidia has increasingly found itself having to navigate trade tensions between the US and China amid President Trump's reshaping of tariff policy.

With the chipmaker set to report second-quarter earnings next week, a key question for Wall Street is whether China will be part of its outlook.

\\"If NVDA were to include China in its guidance, we believe it would contribute an incremental $2-3 billion in revenue,\\" KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh wrote in a recent note.

Google has struck a six-year cloud computing deal with Meta Platforms (META) worth more than $10 billion, according to reports late Thursday. It's the Alphabet-owned (GOOG, GOOGL) search giant's second big agreement recently, after one with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).

Alphabet shares rose over 1% after the reports. Meanwhile, Meta stock ticked slightly higher to put the megacaps on track for an upbeat Friday to end a rough week for Big Techs.

Reuters reports:

Under the agreement, Meta will use Google Cloud's servers, storage, networking and other services, the source, who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential, said.

The news comes after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's comments in July that the company would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build several massive AI data centers. ...

Meta is seeking outside partners to help it fund the massive infrastructure needed to power AI by offloading $2 billion in data center assets, the company disclosed in a filing earlier this month.

Read more here.

Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech — slated for 10 a.m. ET — has been the focal point for the bond market this week, for good reason. In recent years, Powell has used the occasion to make market-moving policy news, with investors zeroing in on whether Fed chair pushes back on the current pricing for rate cuts.

Bloomberg reports:

Bond investors are heading into Friday’s much-anticipated Jerome Powell speech largely expecting the Federal Reserve chair will indicate policymakers will start cutting interest rates next month.

Interest-rate swaps have retreated in recent days amid hawkish comments from other Fed officials and mixed economic data. But the market still shows about a 70% chance of a quarter-point cut at the September meeting, and close to 50 basis points of easing for 2025. ...

“Powell will not want to lock in a rate cut path for a decision in September, he will probably fall a little bit on the side of suggesting that the economic data has weakened enough to support consideration of a rate cut,” said Jason Pride, head of investment strategy and research at Glenmede.

That approach will probably keep the bond market in its current range, with the two-year camped at around 3.75% and the 10-year stuck near 4.30%.

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) has instructed component suppliers including Samsung Electronics Co. and Amkor Technology Inc. to stop production related to the H20 AI chip, the Information reported, citing unidentified sources.

Nvidia issued those orders this week after Beijing urged local companies to avoid using the H20, the Information said, referring to a chip designed specifically for the Chinese market.

A production suspension would raise questions about fundamental demand for the H20, a less-powerful version of Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI accelerators that competes with capable chips from the likes of Huawei Technologies Co. and Cambricon Technologies Corp.

Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. both recently secured Washington’s approval to resume lower-end AI chip sales to China, on the controversial and legally questionable condition that they give the US government a 15% cut of the related revenue.

Read more here.