MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Rally Poised To Fade As Jackson Hole Comes Into Focus

PMIs for August to shine a light on economy

The rally in Wall Street stocks looked set to peter out Wednesday, with trading subdued as investors turned their attention back to the Jackson Hole meeting of global central bankers.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 63 points, or 0.3%, to 21,823, erasing parts of Tuesday's gain. The blue-chip benchmark on Tuesday rallied almost 200 points for its biggest gain since April 25 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-sp-set-for-2nd-day-of-gains-as-rebound-continues-2017-08-22), after reports President Donald Trump is making progress in shaping a plan for tax reform.

Futures for the S&P 500 index dropped 8.5 points, or 0.4%, to 2,444, while those for the Nasdaq-100 index gave up 20 points, or 0.3%, to 5,858.

The S&P 500 finished 1% higher on Tuesday, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 1.4%.

After the Tuesday rally, investors appeared to be in a risk-off mood early Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that he's ready to shut down the government to win funding for a border wall with Mexico (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-threatens-shutdown-over-border-wall-funding-predicts-end-of-nafta-2017-08-22).

Trump, during a rally with his supporters in Arizona, also warned of the possible termination of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Jackson Hole: An event that has been hanging over the market this week so far, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank's central bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., is now only one day away. A dearth of potential trading cues has refocused investor attention on the meeting, which starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.

"The conference comes at a critical moment for central banks, especially the ECB and Fed," said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, in a note.

Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi are among top speakers on Friday, with investors hoping to get hints on the future monetary policy path from both institutions.

"After years of accommodation, the dial is shifting, albeit glacially," Wilson said. "We're about to enter uncharted water: unwinding QE has never been done before, but it's about to be tried on markets that have this year exhibited a degree of calm that is worrisome when you consider what may be coming."

See:Here's what investors will be watching when Draghi, Yellen speak at Jackson Hole (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-investors-will-be-watching-when-draghi-yellen-speak-at-jackson-hole-2017-08-22)

The greenback pulled back on Wednesday in anticipation of the event, with the ICE Dollar down 0.% at 93.283.

Economic news: The purchasing managers' indexes, or PMIs, for services and manufacturing in August are slated for release at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time. New homes sales for July are on the docket at 10 a.m.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will speak at the Permian Basin Petroleum Association Membership Luncheon in Midland, Texas at 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

See:MarketWatch's economic calender (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

Stock movers: Shares of Lowe's Cos. (LOW) lost 5% ahead of the bell after the home-improvement retailer reported adjusted earnings and revenue that missed forecasts.

U.S.-listed shares of WPP PLC (WPP.LN) plunged 11% ahead of the bell after the advertising giant cuts its growth outlook after a drop in revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wpp-cuts-growth-view-as-client-spending-drops-2017-08-23).

Salesforce.com Inc.(CRM) fell 1.8% premarket even after the cloud-software company late Tuesday reported earnings that were better than expected (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/salesforce-beats-on-earnings-and-increases-guidance-but-stock-falls-2017-08-22).

Shares of Intuit Inc. (INTU) could also move after the financial software provider late Tuesday reported earnings that beat forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/intuit-stock-down-after-hours-on-fourth-quarter-earnings-and-cfo-change-2017-08-22), but also said its Chief Financial Officer R. Neil Williams will step down in January.

After Wednesday's closing bell, HP Inc.(HPQ) and PVH Corp.(PVH) are slated to report.

Other markets: There was no trading in Hong Kong, with the Hang Seng Index halted as category-10 Typhoon Hato slammed into the area (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hong-kong-stock-market-closed-as-severe-typhoon-hits-2017-08-23). Other Asian stock markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-gain-despite-jackson-hole-uncertainties-2017-08-22) closed mostly higher. European equities were mostly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-tilt-lower-even-as-factory-activity-stays-strong-2017-08-23).

Oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-slide-as-confusion-over-libyan-production-reigns-2017-08-23) declined, while gold prices were higher.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 23, 2017 08:27 ET (12:27 GMT)