Easing Off the Gas Ahead of the Jackson Hole Speech

Right now the S&P 500's sitting around 7,740, up 0.13%, and the Nasdaq's near 26,570, up 0.11% — a quiet open. But compared to my brief four hours ago, that's a 0.51-point pullback in gains for the S&P and a 1.31-point pullback for the Nasdaq — looks like the market's bracing itself ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's first-ever Jackson Hole speech tonight. Headlines even called the open 'mixed,' which tells me conviction is thin right now. Unlike last night's Kospi, which slid hard at -1.79%, New York's taking a different path tonight with EV batteries and cybersecurity leading while energy and aerospace lag. My paper holdings are drifting along at Schlumberger +2.4%, Isu Petasys -5.8%, Microsoft +28.7%, and HD Hyundai Electric +4.7% — and what Warsh says about inflation and long-term rates tonight is the big thing I'm watching into the close.