Wall Street’s major averages slipped on Wednesday as investors weighed a fresh round of retail earnings and now look ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes.

U.S. stocks opened mostly lower on Wednesday morning as investors digested a mixed batch of retail earnings and awaited the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was rising 0.

Gold rose nearly 1% on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar eased, while market participants braced for the minutes of the U.S. central bank's last policy meeting and upcoming Jackson Hole symposium for clues on future interest rate moves.

This week's set-piece event is the Jackson Hole central-bank gathering in Wyoming, slated for Thursday through Saturday. Investors will tune into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech for any hints on whether the central bank might kick off interest-rate cuts in September.