Stock futures are pointing to a slightly lower open for major indexes on Wednesday as investors respond to a slew of earnings reports from retailers and brace for a big speech later in the week by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures are rising in premarket trading as the stock market looks ahead to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium.

S&P 500 futures are down 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are dipping 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures are slipping 0.4%. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10 points, or 0.02%, to 44922,

U.S. markets are caught in limbo this morning. Stock futures for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are slipping as traders juggle hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts with worries over retail earnings and global politics.

Dow futures slipped slightly on Wednesday as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming remarks at the Jackson Hole Symposium.

Fed minutes are due, and top retailers will report earnings in the coming week. But the main attraction will be Jerome Powell's speech on Friday.

The stock market rally technically was mixed Tuesday, with the Dow eking out a tiny gain. The Nasdaq skidded as high-octane growth names tumbled, including Palantir Technologies PLTR, Credo Technology CRDO, AppLovin APP, as well as GE Vernova GEV, Oracle ORCL, Advanced Micro Devices AMD.

U.S. stock futures dipped slightly on Tuesday as investors awaited earnings from Home Depot and comments from Federal Reserve officials. Meanwhile, attention remains on efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine,