Stock futures are pointing to a slightly lower open for major indexes on Wednesday as investors respond to a slew of earnings reports from retailers and brace for a big speech later in the week by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Fed minutes are due, and top retailers will report earnings in the coming week. But the main attraction will be Jerome Powell's speech on Friday.

US Stock Market Today slipped into caution on Thursday as the Dow Jones fell 230 points, the S&P 500 marked its fifth straight loss, and the Nasdaq ended slightly weaker. The days biggest shock came from Walmart earnings,

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is outpacing the other indexes on Tuesday, potentially on its way to a new record. The Dow was trading at 45,176.19, up about 0.6% on Tuesday. Part of this bump was due to the jump in shares from Home Depot.

Policymaker sentiment will take a front seat heading into the annual Jackson Hole central banking summit.

Dow Jones futures rose slightly after hours, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, with investors awaiting Fed chief Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech Friday morning.The stock market rally fell modestly Thursday amid a WalmartWMT tumble and some pre-Powell caution.

The blue-chip Dow Jones ended higher after hitting an intraday record high on Friday, as UnitedHealth's shares jumped after Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake, but other Wall Street indexes slipped as mixed data clouded the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy move.

It's a sharp contrast with the tariff-fueled turmoil of earlier this year. Away from tech, markets have been exceedingly serene of late, with the Dow industrials moving less than 0.1% in either direction for five straight sessions.

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Walmart stock retreated from a buy zone Thursday and fell back to a key moving average. The Dow Jones retailer saw strong traffic and e-commerce growth for its second-quarter results. But the gains weren't enough to offset Walmart's earnings miss and outlook,