S&P 500 and Dow contracts fall ahead of Fed Chair speech

U.S. stocks were expected to fall on Thursday ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later in the day.

S&P 500 futures fell by 0.2%, trading 7 points lower, while Dow futures lost 0.3%, with contacts trading at 80 points at 7:10 AM ET (11:10 GMT). The Nasdaq Composite index gained 1.7%, closing the session at a record high.

The benchmark indexes are on track to see their fifth consecutive month of gains, with the Nasdaq Composite outperforming with record gains in 2 years. However, the S&P and the Dow haven’t done better in August since 1986 and 1984 respectively.

U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak later in the day during the Jackson Hole conference, where he will give an assessment of the economy as well as give investors clues as to where the central bank’s monetary policy would be heading.