The stock market is heading into a catalyst-filled week as Fed Chair Jerome Powell gets ready to speak at Jackson Hole and big retailers report earnings.

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Fed Chair Jerome Powell used the central bank's annual Wyoming research conference to promise inflation-fighting rigor when it was needed in 2022, then last year he came to the defense of the job market with promises of lower interest rates when the unemployment rate seemed on a steady rise.

Investors are tracking talks aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war and awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole at the end of the week.

Jerome Powell has the ideal platform Friday to deliver a clear signal the Federal Reserve is about to resume cutting interest rates. But the economy isn’t giving him an equally clear signal that now is the time.

Wall Street's main indexes were down on Monday, as investors awaited a raft of corporate earnings reports from major retailers for more signs about the state of the economy and the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole.

Gold price stalls below 50-day MA as traders await Powell’s Jackson Hole speech and Fed rate cut signals. Technical weakness keeps outlook neutral to bearish.

According to Bloomberg Economics, "Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has the opportunity to settle the speculation with his speech at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium", but economists Anna Wong, Stuart Paul, Eliza Winger, Estelle Ou and Chris G. Collins think he won't be as frank this year.

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a muted open on Monday - in a quiet start to a week packed with corporate earnings reports from major retailers and the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole.