Fed chair Jerome Powell will deliver remarks at Jackson Hole on Friday. State Street's chief strategist lays out what investors should listen for.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the central bank's annual Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday, an event that could be a major test of the stock market's post-"Liberation Day" rally.

The takeaway is that markets aren’t pricing in any sort of “succession premium” tied to any one chairman. The glidepath of monetary policy — regardless of Powell’s successor — appears structural, anchored to the Fed’s backward-looking framework . If that holds, it would mark a break from recent history.

Stocks start the week just shy of record highs, underpinned by a well-received corporate earnings season and hopes the Federal Reserve will soon start reducing official borrowing costs again. Investors are therefore keen that Friday’s keynote address by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium will be suitably dovish.

The Nasdaq fell as megacaps lost after having rallied for much of the year. Nvidia fell 3.5%, the biggest drop in nearly four months.

South Korea’s Kospi index rose over 1%, led by a gain in Samsung Electronics Co. shares. LG Display Co. climbed in Seoul while Advantest Corp. jumped 4% in Tokyo.

Stocks often rise the week of the Fed’s big Jackson Hole gathering. Don’t count on it this year. Why a ‘wall of money’ is unlikely to flood into stocks when the Fed cuts rates, this Goldman strategist says.

Software maker Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) plunged more than 9%, making it the S&P 500's weakest performer. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) bucked the trend, edging up 10.45 points, or 0.