Stocks turned well into the green on Friday as investors digested Kevin Warsh’s first Jackson Hole keynote address as Fed Chair.
The Dow (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) picked up roughly 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.5% to lead gains.
In the roughly 30-minute speech, interpreted by the bond market as somewhat hawkish in the short-term, Kevin Warsh reiterated that, with inflation well above the Fed’s 2% target, “The Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
“None of these measures are perfect, but they all tell a similar story: Inflation is running above our 2% target,” Warsh said. “So the Fed’s predominant focus right now should be on prices.”
In the wake of those comments, yields on short-dated two-year Treasury bonds spiked by roughly 8 basis points, while those on the longer-dated 10-year note and 30-year bond fell.