U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction Ahead Of Powell Speech

(RTTNews) - After trending higher over the past few sessions, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later this afternoon.

Powell is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce 2025 Economic Outlook Luncheon.

The speech comes after the Fed announced its widely expected decision to lower interest rates by a quarter point last Wednesday.

In remarks following the decision, Powell described the move as a "risk management cut" amid some signs of weakness in the labor market.

The Fed is widely expected to continue cutting rates at its next two monetary policy meetings in October and December, and traders will be looking to Powell's remarks to shed additional light on the outlook for rates.

However, the Fed chief is likely to reiterate that future rate decisions will be based on incoming economic data such as Friday's closely watched readings on consumer price inflation.

After recovering from an initial move to the downside, stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Monday. While the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the charge, the major averages all reached new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq advanced 157.50 points or 0.7 percent to 22,788.98, the S&P 500 climbed 29.39 points or 0.4 percent to 6,693.75 and the narrower Dow inched up 66.27 points or 0.1 percent to 46,381.54.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid by 0.7 percent, while South Korea's Kospi climbed by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $0.84 to $63.12 a barrel after slipping $0.12 to $62.28 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after soaring $69.30 to $3,775.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $35 to $3,810.10 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.84 yen compared to the 147.72 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1791 compared to yesterday's $1.1803.