DJIA futures up 30 points (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 22 Aug - US futures were higher as investors prepared for a rush of data ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell scheduled for tomorrow.

Wall Street ended higher yesterday after some big retail earnings offset creeping worries about the US shopper's ability to keep on spending and keep the economy out of recession.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to settle short of record highs while the Dow ended up 0.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 0.6%.

Weekly jobless claims, PMI surveys and housing data due out later today will provide more insight into the state of the US economy as the countdown starts on Powell's appearance at the Jackson Hole Symposium tomorrow.

Investors will be keen to glean any change of tone on prospects for interest rates.

The Fed has signalled in recent weeks it is ready to start cutting rates beginning with its next policy meeting in September. But with inflation slowing as both the economy and jobs market cool the focus is shifting now to how fast and deep it may move.

On the stocks front, shares in Peloton surged almost 10% premarket after its fourth-quarter revenue beat estimates while shares in Paramount rose after Edgar Bronfman sweetened his offer for National Amusements and a minority stake in the studio.

Ross Stores, Workday and Intuit are among companies report results after the market closes.

Futures on the Dow Jones were up 30.00 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 futures were up 14.00 points, or 0.25%, while futures on the Nasdaq were 82.25 points, or 0.41%, higher.

AAA-Sje

(RADIOCOR) 22-08-24 14:27:26 (0350) 5 NNNN