His remarks are expected to provide signals on whether policymakers could consider cutting interest rates at their September meeting.
Global trading has been cautious in recent days, shaped by concerns over stubborn inflation and mixed growth prospects, even as technology stocks, driven largely by artificial intelligence, continue to show strength.
Powell enters the spotlight under added pressure, with President Donald Trump repeatedly calling for rate cuts, an unusual political intervention for the independent central bank.
In Asia, the mood was split. Tokyo’s Nikkei inched up 0.1 percent after a 0.7 percent fall the previous day. Fresh figures from Japan showed core inflation slowing to 3.1 percent in July from 3.3 percent a month earlier, still above the Bank of Japan’s two-percent target, reinforcing expectations that a rate hike may come in October.
