Warsh Stresses Fed Commitment to Low Inflation Despite Market Pressures

US stock markets held steady on Friday following a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh at the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

In his first appearance at the event as Fed chairman, Warsh emphasized that inflation remains too high and reiterated his commitment to keeping interest rates steady despite ongoing pressure from President Donald Trump to lower them.

The S&P 500 index was virtually unchanged in morning trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59 points or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%.

Warsh's remarks were closely watched by investors, as he has been adamant that he wants to give financial markets fewer clues about the Fed's plans for interest rates. However, his speech did little to provide clarity on whether the Fed will take action to address high inflation, which remains above the Fed's 2% target.

The bond market reacted more significantly to Warsh's comments, with yields zigzagging in the minutes following the release of the text of his speech. The yield on the two-year Treasury jumped to 4.29%, while longer-term yields were mixed, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising to 4.69% and the 30-year yield falling to 5.17%.

In other market news, Gap Inc. surged 15.4% after reporting stronger-than-expected profits for the latest quarter, while Marvell Technology fell 6.9% despite beating analyst expectations with its earnings report.