08:25 AM EDT, 09/24/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were little changed pre-bell Wednesday as traders turned cautious after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell flagged a "challenging situation" for the central bank.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% higher.

Powell said Tuesday that 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," Powell said. "If we maintain restrictive policy too long, the labor market could soften unnecessarily."

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 1.2% at $68.41 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 1.2% higher at $64.18 per barrel.

The August new home sales bulletin, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, is seen coming in at a 650,000 annual rate versus 652,000 in July, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.