08:10 AM EDT, 07/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were lower Tuesday as traders looked ahead to a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for insights into the country's economy and inflation.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.4%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures were down 0.6%.

Powell is scheduled to speak before the European Central Bank Forum on Central Banking 2024 at 9:30 am ET.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.8% at $87.30 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.9% at $84.11 per barrel, buoyed by positive economic data from China. The Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came at 51.8 in June, up 0.1 points from May, according to Caixin Global.

Job openings based on the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey are seen at 7.96 million in May versus April's 8.059 million, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.