Stocks Down Pre-Bell as Investors Await Fed Meeting Minutes, Powell's Remarks

07:29 AM EDT, 08/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were tracking in the red before the opening bell Monday as traders await minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting and remarks from the central bank chair Jerome Powell later in the week.

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq declined 0.2% each in premarket activity. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished Friday's trading session lower, while the Dow closed slightly in the green.

The Fed is scheduled on Wednesday to post minutes of its last policy session, which will be assessed for clues on monetary policy. The central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged last month, although Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman opposed the decision.

Powell is set to speak on Friday at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, while Bowman is expected to share her remarks on Tuesday and Waller on Wednesday.

Treasury yields fell in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 1.9 basis points to 3.74% and the 10-year rate dropping 3.3 basis points to 4.3%.

The probability that the Fed will lower its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points next month stood at 83% on Monday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Last week, official data showed that US producer prices rose at the fastest pace in about three years in July, while consumer inflation slowed down on a sequential basis. Retail sales rose less than projected last month amid declines in purchases of building materials and electronics, government data showed on Friday.

US consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell in August as inflation expectations rose, preliminary results from a University of Michigan survey showed.

Monday's thin economic calendar has the housing market index for August at 10 am ET.

Shares of Soho House (SHCO) jumped 16% pre-bell as the company agreed to be acquired and taken private by an investor group led by MCR Hotels in a deal with an enterprise value of about $2.7 billion. Novo Nordisk's (NVO) US-listed stock gained 4.1% as the Danish drugmaker said the US Food and Drug Administration granted its weight-loss drug Wegovy a new indication to treat a serious liver disease. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) was down 1.3%.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is scheduled to report its latest financial results after the markets close. Retail giants Walmart (WMT) , Home Depot (HD) , TJX (TJX) and Target (TGT) are expected to post earnings later in the week, along with other companies.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 0.3% to $62.99 a barrel before the open. Gold moved up 0.3% to $3,394 per troy ounce, while bitcoin decreased 2.1% to $115,186.

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