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.

U.S. stock-index futures remained lower after data showed first-time jobless claims last week rose to 235,000, up from 224,000 the previous week and above economist expectations for 225,000.

Dow Jones futures fell slightly overnight, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures.The stock market rally technically was mixed Tuesday, with the Dow eking out a tiny gain. The Nasdaq skidded as high-octane growth names tumbled,

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.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 declined 0.1% in morning trading. Akzo Nobel rose 4.2% and Hensoldt climbed 3.7%. On the other hand, Powsz Kasa Oszcz Bk Polsk dropped 7.3%, and Bank Polska Kasa Opieki fell 7.2%. The FTSE 100 lost 0.2%. Other stocks in Europe were mixed as France's CAC 40 was flat and Germany's DAX dropped 0.1%.

On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give his final speech as Fed chair during the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The theme of this year’s symposium, which runs from Thursday through Saturday, is “Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy.”

Wall Street fell to a fifth straight loss on Thursday, hurt by a drop for Walmart and dampened hopes for coming cuts to interest rates. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%. All its losses have been relatively modest,

U.S. stock-market futures rose slightly Sunday, after Friday’s summit between U.S. and Russian leaders ended without a major breakthrough and as investors await this week’s Fed gathering in Jackson Hole,