07:24 AM EDT, 09/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were pointing lower before Monday's opening bell as investors await Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech for additional clues on monetary policy.

Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.2%. The majority of Asian exchanges were trending higher while European bourses were tracking in the red midday on the continent.

Powell is scheduled to speak in Nashville, Tennessee at 1 pm ET. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman is slated to speak at 8:50 am.

On the economic calendar, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index data for September is out at 9:45 am, followed by the Dallas Fed Manufacturing survey for the same month at 10:30 am.

Nio's (NIO) US-listed stock jumped 14% pre-bell after a unit of the Chinese electric vehicle maker secured roughly $1.9 billion in investment from its parent company and a group of investors. Stellantis' ( STLA ) shares on the New York stock exchange dropped 13% as the automaker slashed its full-year adjusted operating income margin and industrial free cash flow forecasts.

Carnival (CCL, CUK) is set to report its latest financial results before the bell.

Before the open, bitcoin fell 3.5% to $63,622, West Texas Intermediate crude oil inched 0.1% lower to $68.14 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries gained 2.2 basis points to 3.77% and gold ticked down 0.2% to $2,663 an ounce.