Stock Futures Mostly Edge Lower Ahead of Fed Chair Powell's Comments

07:29 AM EDT, 09/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were mostly trending downwards on Tuesday as investors await commentary from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

The S&P 500 edged down 0.1% and the Nasdaq was slightly in the red in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was marginally in the green. The indexes notched record closing highs for a third consecutive session on Monday.

Powell is scheduled to speak at 12:35 pm ET, with traders to gauge his comments for clues on future monetary policy. Last week, the Fed lowered its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points and signaled further reductions as it saw increased downside risks to employment.

At his post-Federal Open Market Committee meeting press conference last week, Powell characterized the central bank's policy move as a "risk management cut."

Newly appointed Fed Governor Stephen Miran said Monday that the central bank's policy rate should be two percentage points lower than where it currently is, while St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem cautioned against further rate cuts.

Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman's remarks are due at 9 am, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks at 10 am.

Treasury yields were moving down in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 0.4 basis points to nearly 3.6% and the 10-year rate declining 1.6 basis points to 4.13%.

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) nudged 0.7% lower pre-bell after closing the previous trading session up about 4%. The tech bellwether intends to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to support a new partnership aimed at helping the Microsoft (MSFT)-backed (MSFT) artificial intelligence lab expand its computing power, according to the companies.

Kenvue's (KVUE) stock climbed 5.8% after closing the previous trading session down 7.5% as President Donald Trump linked the company's drug Tylenol to autism, news outlets reported.

Micron Technology (MU) is scheduled to release its latest quarterly results after the markets close, along with Worthington Enterprises (WOR) and AAR (AIR). AutoZone (AZO) posts earnings before the bell.

The purchasing managers' index report from S&P Global (SPGI) for September is out at 9:45 am, followed by the Richmond Fed manufacturing index for the same month at 10 am.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil advanced 1.2% to $63 a barrel before the opening bell. Gold gained 1.1% to $3,816 per troy ounce, while bitcoin traded up 0.6% at $113,033.

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