US pre-open: Futures lower as attention turns to Jackson Hole
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 18 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Monday after increased hopes of a rate cut from the Federal Reserve buoyed sentiment last week.
As of 1215 BST, Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures all had the indices opening 0.12% lower.
The Dow closed 34.86 points higher on Friday, reversing modest losses recorded in the previous session as the strongest rise in wholesale prices in three years limited upside for stocks.
The Federal Reserve will remain in focus this week, with policymakers set to head to Jackson Hole for the annual economic symposium. Investors will be watching closely for any signals on the future direction of interest rates. Futures markets now appear to be pricing in an almost 85% chance of a rate cut at the central bank's September meeting.
Rostro's Joshua Mahony said: "This week brings fresh insights from the Jackson Hole Symposium, with the under-fire Fed chair Powell expected to head up affairs on Friday. Coming hot off the heels of Thursday's surprisingly high PPI figure (0.9%), we have seen a significant roadblock emerge that could hold back any major dovish shift from Powell.
"With the jobs creation clearly worsening in recent months, the Fed remain in a predicament on whether to assume that any initial warning signs do not turn into a fully-blown inflationary surge. From a market perspective, the lack of direction for the dollar highlights a distinct lack of confidence over exactly what the Fed chair does in this key week."
Also drawing an amount of investor attention, Donald Trump's meeting with Vladimir Putin ended with a lack of any agreement that ends the war with Ukraine, with the US president now entering discussions with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a plan that was unlikely to go down well.
Zelenskyy has already said the Ukrainian constitution makes the idea of giving up land to Russia "impossible", something Moscow seeks to do, while another part of the deal lies in NATO membership, with Trump claiming that he can end the war almost immediately if Ukraine vows to give up aspirations on joining the group.
On the macro front, the National Association of House Builders' August housing market index will be published at 1500 BST.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday, but big-box retailers, Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart and Target will all release their latest quarterly figures before the end of the week.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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