U.S. stocks waver as investors eye earnings, Fed symposium

U.S. stocks opened the week on a muted note as momentum from the recent market rally appeared to pause ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium.

The S&P 500 opened 0.1% lower, while the blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered flat, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.

Stocks were subdued after another week of gains pushed major U.S. indices to a second straight week of winnings, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both striking new record highs. 

What are investors watching this week?

This week’s stock market outlook has a number of key factors that investors will pay attention to greatly. Among these is Wall Street’s focus on the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole conference set for Aug. 21 to 23 in Wyoming. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak at the central bank symposium, with this being his final Jackson Hole speech before his term ends in May 2026. Key to investor attention at the conference will be Powell’s commentary on the U.S. economic outlook as well as the Fed’s monetary policy framework, the latter crucial, as expectations of a Fed rate cut in September remain high.

Also on the agenda and key to sentiment are upcoming retail giants’ earnings reports, geopolitics, and global trade. In terms of earnings, Wall Street will be keen on Walmart, Home Depot, and Target, crucial reports in the broad take on tariffs and inflation impact. 

Geopolitics remain near the top of the agenda after U.S. President Donald Trump met Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Trump is set to meet Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy and told the Ukrainian leader to forget about the annexed Crimea region in relation to NATO membership.

Bitcoin mirrors stocks

As stocks trade flat amid the shift in sentiment, cryptocurrencies are also struggling.

Like the major gauges, Bitcoin (BTC) hit a new all-time high above $124k on Aug. 14. However, sell-off has pushed the benchmark digital asset to lows of $114.7k in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin’s dip and broader stocks’ performance also saw crypto stocks such as Strategy and Coinbase shed more than 2%, respectively.