Equities Steady Intraday as Markets Await This Week's Powell Speech, Retail Earnings

02:04 PM EDT, 08/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were little changed after midday Monday as Wall Street awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech and earnings by some major retailers due later in the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were almost steady at 44,946.5 and 6,447.8, respectively, intraday, while the Nasdaq Composite was at 21,604.1. Among sectors, communication services saw the biggest drop, while industrials paced the gainers.

Powell's speech is scheduled for Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Market participants will be watching his comments for any hints on a reduction in the Fed's benchmark lending rate at its meeting next month.

"If Powell weighs in on the near-term, a hint at September would perhaps employ terms like 'soon' or 'somewhat soon' in reference to an easing bias," Scotiabank Head of Capital Markets Economics Derek Holt said in a Monday client note. "I doubt he's of that mindset and think that a September cut remains overpriced."

Markets are currently pricing in an 83% probability that the Fed will reduce interest rates by 25 basis points next month, with the remaining odds in the favor of another pause, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The Fed is scheduled to release minutes of its July meeting Wednesday. At the meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates unchanged, though governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman preferred a quarter-percentage-point reduction.

US Treasury yields were little changed intraday Monday, with the 10- and two-year rates almost steady at 4.33% and 3.76%, respectively.

Retail giants Walmart (WMT) , Home Depot (HD) , TJX (TJX) and Target (TGT) are scheduled to report their latest quarterly financial results later this week, along with other companies.

About 92% of S&P 500 companies have logged quarterly results in the current cycle, with earnings up 11.3% from a year earlier on revenue growth of 5.9%, Oppenheimer Asset Management said Monday. The brokerage last Monday reported growth rates of 11.4% and 6%, respectively, based on financials reported by about 91% of the index constituents.

Before the start of the reporting season, Forbes put analysts' projected earnings growth at 4.8%, according to Oppenheimer.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is scheduled to report results after the closing bell Monday.

In company news, Intel (INTC) shares were down 3.2%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration is discussing taking a roughly 10% stake in the chipmaker, according to a White House official and other sources.

Dayforce (DAY) shares jumped nearly 27%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, following a report by Bloomberg that buyout firm Thoma Bravo is in discussions to acquire the human resources management software provider.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.1% at $63.52 a barrel intraday. "Oil rose after White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India's purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow's war in Ukraine and had to stop," D.A. Davidson said in a client note.

In economic news, homebuilder confidence in the US unexpectedly fell in August amid high mortgage rates and persistent supply-side challenges, according to National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo data.

"Given a slowing housing market and other recent economic data, the Fed's monetary policy committee should return to lowering the federal funds rate, which will reduce financing costs for housing construction and indirectly help mortgage interest rates," said NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

Gold was down 0.1% at $3,378.80 per troy ounce, while silver rose 0.2% to $38.06 per ounce.

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