Housing market data, Fed meeting minutes, and weekly jobless claims also will attract attention this week.
Remarks from the Federal Reserve chair will likely demand market watchers' attention this week as investors seek clarity over the central bank's next interest-rate moves. Powell has been under pressure to produce rate cuts, but recent economic data has put officials in a tough position.
Traders also will be following earnings expected from major retailers, including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, and Ross Stores. Investors will watch for signs of tariff-driven inflation and fading consumer sentiment. Housing market data, Fed meeting minutes, and weekly jobless claims also could have an impact on markets this week.
The major U.S. indexes logged gains last week, with the Dow touching an intraday record on Friday.
Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events -- and one more thing.
Attention will turn toward the American West this week. At the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, Powell is expected to lead a lineup of speakers that includes central bankers, economists, and top officials.
Economists are seeing more likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates at its next meeting as the central bank faces relentless pressure from President Donald Trump and other administration officials to lower borrowing costs when it next meets in September. The Fed hasn't lowered rates since last December and now finds itself in a tough position, said BMO Senior Economist Jennifer Lee, with inflation ticking higher while the job market looks weaker than thought.
"Can't imagine the pressure on Fed Chair Powell ahead of the Jackson Hole gathering," Lee wrote in a recent blog post.
The minutes for the July meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will provide a look into the Fed's view of interest rates and the economy and could add insight about the actions of two committee members who split from their colleagues to vote in favor of a rate cut last month.
Housing market data and jobless claims also will be released this week.
As Trump's tariffs begin to show some impact on inflation, earnings reports from large retailers will show if the import taxes are hitting their sales.