07:14 AM EDT, 06/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The main US stock measures mostly edged higher in Wednesday's premarket activity as investors await more comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, following his Tuesday remarks on monetary policy.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were each slightly in the green before the opening bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1%. The indexes finished the previous trading session higher, with the Dow notching a third consecutive day of gains.

Powell is scheduled to speak before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs at 10 am ET, as part of his semi-annual testimony to Congress. Powell said Tuesday that the Fed can continue to wait and evaluate how the US economy responds to policy changes before it adjusts its monetary policy.

"For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance," Powell said in prepared remarks to the House Committee on Financial Services. The US economy is in a "solid position" despite elevated uncertainty, while the unemployment rate remains low, he noted.

Powell appears to be "unmoved" by President Donald Trump's increasingly harsh criticism or recent comments from Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller that suggested lawmakers are leaning toward a July 30 rate cut, BMO Capital Markets Senior Economist Sal Guatieri said in a Tuesday note. "We continue to expect the next rate cut to occur in September," he said.

The Fed kept its benchmark lending rate unchanged for a fourth straight meeting last week, while markets are currently pricing in a 20% probability that policymakers will reduce interest rates by 25 basis points next month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

The two-year Treasury yield rate inclined by 0.9 basis point to 3.79% in premarket action, while the 10-year rate remained unchanged at 4.29%.

The US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to hold overnight and into Wednesday, despite both sides reportedly accusing each other of violating the truce immediately after it was announced by Trump on Tuesday. Trump said on Truth Social that the US airstrikes on Iran last weekend "obliterated" the country's ability to create nuclear weapons.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil and Brent rose more than 1% each to $65.04 and $67.86 a barrel, respectively, before the open.

Meanwhile, the European Union will impose retaliatory tariffs on US imports if the Trump administration puts a 10% baseline levy on the bloc's goods, according to Bloomberg News. "We will need to retaliate and rebalance in some key sectors if the US insists on an asymmetrical deal," the EU's industry chief, Stephane Sejourne, told Bloomberg in an interview.

Wednesday's economic calendar has the weekly mortgage applications bulletin, followed by the new home sales report for May and the weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report.

Data from the Conference Board on Tuesday showed that US consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in June as views on current and future conditions deteriorated amid uncertainty around the effects of tariffs.

Shares of FedEx ( FDX ) dropped 5.6% pre-bell after the parcel delivery giant issued a downbeat fiscal first-quarter earnings outlook at the midpoint. Coinbase Global ( COIN ) added 2.5% after finishing the previous trading sessions with a 12% jump.

Paychex ( PAYX ) and General Mills ( GIS ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others, while Micron Technology ( MU ) releases earnings in the afterhours.

Gold increased 0.2% to $3,341 per troy ounce, while bitcoin advanced 1.4% to $107,030.