0828 | Fed's Warsh Leaned Hawkish; Salesforce Surges, Marvell Slips 6% Despite Beat

Mia: Welcome to After Market on Bri Radio. I'm Mia.

Milo: And I'm Milo. Today we're tracking a hawkish turn from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, Salesforce's best day on record — second best, to be precise — and a move lower for Marvell.

Mia: Plus, premarket gains for Take-Two, pressure on the yen, and a surge in corn and wheat futures.

Milo: Lots to get through. Let's dig in.

Mia: Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh leaned hawkish in his Jackson Hole keynote, telling markets the economy has strengthened and that financial conditions cannot be called restrictive. He said he's focused on bringing inflation down to the 2 percent target and warned the Fed may "have work to do" — and the two-year Treasury yield jumped right after that remark. Investors read that as hawkish, with Wall Street boosting the odds of a September sixteenth rate hike, Treasury yields lifted, and gold and bitcoin losing some recent rally momentum.

Milo: Warsh used the speech to outline his philosophy on policymaking while sidestepping any explicit policy signal, so no direct commitment on the path of rates was given. He expressed concern about inflation and advocated for a "quieter" central bank. Bloomberg Markets reported his hawkish message landed as real yields led the bond move, and that Warsh is driving the Treasuries market whether he wants to or not.

Mia: In equities, stock traders warmed to Warsh as the volatility index touched a year to date low. But with no explicit policy signal, whether that shift in rate hike odds — and the moves in yields, gold, and bitcoin — actually holds remains unknown.

Milo: From a hawkish Fed to a swing higher in tech, Salesforce stock had its second best day on record following the company's earnings report, according to the sourced summary. Wall Street is showing renewed confidence in Chief Executive Marc Benioff's artificial intelligence story, with Salesforce's AI strength described as quieting the skeptics — the reporting frames it as Benioff getting his mojo back.

Mia: The exact percentage gain isn't stated, and the report doesn't spell out guidance details or what catalysts come next, though the day's move itself was the headline.

Mia: Over to Marvell, where shares fell 6 percent on Friday even though the company posted a second quarter revenue beat and 37 percent revenue growth. The decline was tied to its fiscal 2028 outlook, which underwhelmed and failed to meet investors' expectations.

Milo: Jim Cramer's Friday watch list described Marvell as having fallen victim to high expectations, while he characterized Affirm's quarter as strong. No further detail on the outlook shortfall or the subsequent trading reaction was included.

Milo: Shifting to gaming, Take-Two Interactive shares moved higher in premarket trading Friday, with analysts bullish on the Grand Theft Auto maker's parent company following what they called a successful trailer launch for Grand Theft Auto 6, which they said signals blockbuster demand.

Mia: On the currency side, the yen weakened past the key 160 per dollar level, extending a slide that has erased more than half of its intervention fueled gains, according to Bloomberg Markets. On top of that, the U.S. Treasury hasn't disclosed how much yen it bought, the execution rate, or the current value of the position, despite Warren's requests for details.

Milo: Bessent attacked Warren over the yen intervention query, offering what was described as a "Foreign Exchange for Dummies" lesson, per US Top News and Analysis. So the size, execution price, and current value of any Treasury yen purchases all remain unknown. The open question is whether yen weakness continues beyond 160 per dollar, and whether any further official response or disclosure follows.

Milo: Wrapping the crop markets, corn and wheat futures have surged to their highest levels in more than three years. What stands out is that the report notes the reasons behind the recent rallies are notably different for the two markets — different drivers, but both pushing those futures to that high point.

Mia: So to recap the two big takeaways today — Warsh's hawkish Jackson Hole debut lifted yields and rate hike odds while cooling gold and bitcoin, and Salesforce had its second best day on record as Benioff's AI story quieted the skeptics.

Milo: That's it for today. Thanks for listening.

Mia: See you next time.