NEW YORK — 10:00 a.m. ET, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. U.S. stocks opened with little movement Friday as Wall Street shifted almost immediately from Nvidia’s AI-driven rally to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh, whose closely watched Jackson Hole address began at 10 a.m. Eastern.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.5 points, or 0.08%, to 53,611.94. The S&P 500 gained 4.2 points, or 0.05%, to 7,735.17, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 25.4 points, or 0.10%, to 26,515.99. 

The restrained opening followed Thursday’s technology rally, when Nvidia’s strong outlook reinforced expectations that enormous spending on artificial-intelligence infrastructure could continue for years. Friday’s question is different: how aggressively will the Federal Reserve respond to inflation that remains well above its 2% target?

Warsh Takes Center Stage

Warsh’s keynote at the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium began at 10:00 a.m. ET, making monetary policy the dominant market catalyst for the remainder of the morning. Investors are listening for any indication that the Fed is leaning toward another interest-rate increase, remaining on hold, or becoming more concerned about slowing economic growth. The Fed’s official calendar confirms the 10 a.m. keynote. 

Treasury yields were already elevated heading into the speech, with the 10-year Treasury yield around 4.69%. Higher long-term yields are particularly important for technology and other high-valuation growth stocks because they increase the discount rate investors apply to future earnings. 

Consumer Sentiment Remains Weak

The final University of Michigan reading showed consumer sentiment at 51.0 in August, unchanged from the preliminary reading and sharply below July’s 55.2.

That leaves sentiment down roughly 12% from August 2025, reflecting continued concern about household finances, inflation and future business conditions. The preliminary survey had shown particularly sharp deterioration in expectations for the economy, while year-ahead inflation expectations had risen to 4.3% and longer-term expectations remained around 3.3%. 

The message for businesses is important: consumers have not stopped spending, but confidence remains extremely fragile, making shoppers more sensitive to prices and potentially more cautious heading toward the fall and holiday spending periods.

Gap Surges as Old Navy Gets New Leadership

Gap jumped more than 20% in early trading after the retailer named veteran executive Michael Francis chief executive of Old Navy, its largest brand.

Gap also raised its annual profit outlook after beating quarterly expectations, although it narrowed its full-year sales-growth forecast because of economic uncertainty. Gap comparable sales rose about 10%, while Old Navy sales declined 4% — their first decline in 12 quarters. 

The stock reaction shows investors are betting that stronger management at Old Navy could unlock more of the turnaround already underway at Gap and Banana Republic.

PayPal Plunges as Takeover Hopes Fade

PayPal fell sharply after a report that Advent International and Stripe had abandoned their pursuit of the payments company.

The consortium had previously offered about $60.50 a share, valuing PayPal near $53 billion, but PayPal’s board considered the proposal inadequate. Shares had rallied nearly 30% after takeover speculation emerged, making the collapse of those talks especially painful for investors who had bought into expectations of a deal. 

PayPal now returns to the harder question of whether its own turnaround can produce enough earnings growth to justify a higher valuation without a buyer.

Marvell Drops Despite Strong AI Outlook

Marvell Technology fell about 8% despite reporting better-than-expected results and raising its longer-term revenue forecasts.

The problem was timing. Investors had hoped Marvell’s enormous custom-chip agreement with Google would produce more near-term revenue. Management indicated the Google contribution becomes substantially more meaningful beginning in fiscal 2029.

Marvell expects fiscal 2027 revenue of roughly $12 billion, up about 45%, and fiscal 2028 revenue near $18 billion, but those numbers were not enough to satisfy a market that had already pushed the stock up nearly threefold this year. 

That reaction is a useful warning for the broader AI trade: strong growth alone is no longer always enough when expectations are already extraordinary.

Affirm moved in the opposite direction, surging after stronger quarterly results. Revenue climbed 33% to roughly $1.2 billion, while gross merchandise volume jumped 36% to $14.1 billion, reinforcing demand for buy-now-pay-later services despite broader concerns about consumer finances. 

Oil Provides Some Inflation Relief

Oil prices were heading toward their first weekly decline in three weeks.

Brent crude traded around $89.30 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate around $82.77, with both benchmarks down roughly 5% for the week as increased shipments through the Strait of Hormuz reduced some immediate supply fears.

The situation remains volatile, however. Shipping through the strait is still below normal levels and negotiations involving Iran remain unresolved. 

Lower oil prices would be welcome for the Fed because they could eventually reduce gasoline, transportation and manufacturing costs. But businesses are still confronting unusually large fuel surcharges imposed by freight and delivery companies following months of Middle East disruption. 

What to Watch for the Rest of Friday

Warsh’s speech is the immediate market-moving event. Treasury yields, the dollar and rate-sensitive technology stocks could react sharply to any language indicating that inflation requires additional tightening.

Investors will then turn toward next week’s economic calendar. The August employment report arrives Friday, Sept. 4, and could become the decisive data point ahead of the Fed’s September meeting. Recent payroll data have weakened, meaning a surprisingly strong jobs report could revive expectations for another rate increase, while another weak report would complicate the Fed’s inflation fight. 

The corporate calendar also remains important. Broadcom’s upcoming earnings will give investors another major reading on AI-chip and infrastructure demand following Nvidia and Marvell.

For now, Wall Street is essentially standing still while waiting for the Fed chairman to speak. Nvidia has reassured investors that the AI boom remains powerful. Warsh now has to tell markets whether inflation will allow the economy — and valuations — to keep running this hot.

JBizNews Desk | Wall Street

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