Stock futures rose Friday as traders await an all-important policy speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell for any guidance on future rate cuts. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 152 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures edged advanced 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. The Fed chairman, set to speak at 10 a.m. ET from the central bank’s annual conclave in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is expected to signal it’s appropriate for the central bank to begin lowering interest rates soon, with limited clues about the magnitude and frequency of the reductions. “Powell is expected to lay the groundwork for the Fed’s first rate cut in over four years,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. “Signs of reduced pricing pressures and cooling economic growth will likely be enough for policymakers to start reducing the target rate.” Markets are betting on a quarter percentage point cut at the Sept. meeting, and leaving open about a 1-in-4 chance for a half percentage point reduction, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch. Minutes from the July session showed a “vast majority” of members in favor of a September cut. Stocks were pressured on Thursday by a surge in Treasury yields in the run-up to the Jackson Hole speech. The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.7%, suffering its worst day since Aug. 5. The blue-chip Dow lost 177 points. The Dow and the S&P 500 are still up modestly this week. However, the Nasdaq is down 0.1% week to date, poised to post fifth negative week in six. The U.S. 10-year Treasury fell slightly on Friday as investors awaited remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. At 4:08 a.m. ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down under a basis point to 3.85%, and the yield on the 2-year Treasury rose under a basis point to 4.01%. Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell on Friday as investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments at the Jackson Hole gathering of global central bankers. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% to 38,364.27, while the Topix rose 0.5% and closed at 2,684.72. Both indexes hit their highest level since Aug. 1, a day before the Asia markets meltdown. South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.22% and ended at 2,701.69, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell marginally to close at 773.26. The small cap index recorded a third straight day of losses. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped just below the flatline to 8,023.9, snapping a 10-day winning streak. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.14% as of its final hour, while mainland China’s CSI 300 reversed losses to rise 0.42%, closing at 3,327.19. The CSI had slipped to a fresh six-month low, before changing course to gain. Oil prices were steady in early Asian trading on Friday, but were poised to end the week lower as downward revisions to U.S. employment data raised demand concerns and ceasefire talks in Gaza eased worries about supply disruptions. Brent crude futures were down a cent to $77.21 per barrel by 0033 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 4 cents to $73.05 per barrel. Both benchmarks rose for the first time in five sessions on Thursday on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve would cut interest rates soon, which helped ease some concerns about the economic outlook of the top oil consumer. Gold prices inched up on Friday but were set for a weekly decline, as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields rebounded ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech that could offer fresh insights on the central bank’s interest rate cuts plans. Spot gold rose 0.6% to $2,498.38 per ounce, and U.S. gold futures gained 0.7% to $2,534.40. “Gold’s stay below $2,500 could be temporary in nature, with the fundamentals still appearing favourable for the precious metal,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst, KCM Trade. After hitting an all-time high of $2,531.60 on Tuesday, bullion has fallen nearly 1% this week, hurt by a bounce in dollar index and benchmark U.S. 10-year yields.