07:22 AM EDT, 09/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The main US stock measures were mostly pointing higher in Wednesday's premarket activity as investors assess Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's warning that the central bank faces a "challenging situation" with respect to its dual mandate.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq added 0.3% before the opening bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly in the red. The indexes closed the previous trading session lower, following a three-day advance to all-time highs.

In remarks prepared for a speech on Tuesday in Warwick, Rhode Island, Powell said monetary policymakers face a "challenging situation," with near-term risks to inflation tilted to the upside and those to employment leaning downside.

"If we ease too aggressively, we could leave the inflation job unfinished and need to reverse course later to fully restore 2% inflation," according to Powell. "If we maintain restrictive policy too long, the labor market could soften unnecessarily."

Separately, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said recent data indicate that policymakers are at a "serious risk of already being behind the curve" in addressing a weakening labor market.

On Monday, newly appointed Fed Governor Stephen Miran said the central bank's policy rate should be two percentage points lower than where it currently is, while St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem cautioned against further rate cuts.

Last week, the Federal Open Market Committee reduced its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points, noting increased downside risks to employment and signaling further policy easing later in the year.

Treasury yields were down before the open, with the two-year rate declining 1 basis point to 3.57% and the 10-year rate decreasing 0.4 basis points to 4.11%.

Wednesday's economic calendar has the weekly mortgage applications bulletin at 7 am ET, followed by the new home sales report for August at 10 am. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly is scheduled to speak at 4:10 pm.

Shares of Micron Technology ( MU ) nudged up 0.9% pre-bell as the semiconductor manufacturer recorded fiscal fourth-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates. AAR (AIR) inched up 0.3% after reporting a year-over-year increase in its fiscal first-quarter results.

Cintas ( CTAS ) and Thor Industries ( THO ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others. KB Home ( KBH ) , H. B. Fuller ( FUL ) and Steelcase ( SCS ) release earnings after the markets close.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil inclined 1.1% to $64.11 a barrel in premarket activity. The weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report is out at 10:30 am.

Gold slipped 0.5% to $3,796 per troy ounce, while bitcoin grew 1% to $112,830.