U.S. Stock Futures Pause Ahead of JOLTs Data, With Jobs Report in Focus

S&P 500 futures hovered just below flat with contracts tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq down less than 0.1%. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech last Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium is in the rearview mirror, but the road ahead for central bank policy and interest rates remains firmly in focus. Powell and other Fed officials have made clear that inflation remains too high and that further tightening of monetary policy—pushing rates to further generational highs—may be necessary.