U.S. index futures and European stocks struggled for direction ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting (Jackson Hole Week in the next couple of days is definitely going to be dominated in the business news). S&P 500 contracts were little changed as of 5:45 a.m. New York time, after fluctuating between modest gains and losses. The U.S. Census Bureau stated in its preliminary report, the durable goods orders in the U.S. remained virtually unchanged on a monthly basis, reaching $273.5 billion in July.

Yesterday’s early gains faded and U.S. equities finished lower as oil prices, corporate earnings, and the upcoming Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. weighed on the market. The Dow lost 154 points, and the S&P 500 slipped 9 points, while the Nasdaq was down fractionally. Global PMIs were all down in August, signalling the growing risk of global recession. The US S&P Global Composite PMI for August fell to 45, the lowest since February 2021, from 47.7 in July. In the UK, the S&P/CIPS Composite PMI dropped to 50.9 in August from 52.1 while Manufacturing PMI was down from July’s 51.1 to 46 in August. In the Eurozone, the S&P Global Composite PMI fell to 49.2 in August from 49.9 in July. US data today include U.S. MBA mortgage applications, July’s durable goods, pending home sales and the EIA’s oil inventory report. In remarks on Tuesday, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari emphasized that the central bank needs to tighten monetary policy further to "bring things into balance." Goldman Sachs Group (GS) Chief Economist Jan Hatzius added his view, saying he believes Powell will lay out a case for slowing the pace of interest rate hikes.

Classic energy companies were among the best-performing stocks in the S&P 500 as crude prices jumped to their highest levels in almost two weeks. Futures were boosted by comments from the Saudi energy minister suggesting that OPEC+ might cut production to keep prices elevated. Gold, silver, and copper futures also rose, lifting shares of Freeport-McMoran (FCX) and other mining companies.

Shares of Macy’s (M), Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), J.M. Smucker (SJM), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) advanced on their strong earnings reports. That wasn’t the case for Zoom Video Communications (ZM), whose shares remained depressed through the day after the company reported a drop in demand for its video conferencing service the day before. Nordstrom (JWN) shares were also plunging in extended trading as the retailer slashed its FY profit and sales forecast.

Twitter (TWTR) shares declined as a former head of security accused the social media giant of poor security and a lack of effort to eliminate fake accounts. Shares of Procter & Gamble (PG), Home Depot (HD), UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Verizon Communications (VZ) were the biggest underperformers in the Dow structure.

European markets are trying to recover after yesterday’s losing streak. As of 2:55 p.m. CET, the Pan European Stoxx Europe 600 Index is adding just 0.12%, British FTSE 100 is still in the red losing 0.38%, while the French CAC 40 Index is virtually unchanged, but German DAX declined 0.15%.

Earlier today, Asian markets traded mixed today. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.49%, China’s Shanghai Composite shed 1.86%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.20%. Notwithstanding, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5%, while India’s S&P BSE SENSEX rose 0.2%.