US Equity Futures Mostly Flat Pre-Bell as Traders Await Fed Chair's Keynote Speech

07:50 AM EDT, 08/28/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were mostly flat pre-bell Friday as traders awaited a highly anticipated keynote speech from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures were 0.2% lower. Warsh is slated to speak at 10 am ET at the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and traders will be looking for signals on where interest rates could go next. President Donald Trump on Thursday told reporters that the US is not talking to Iran. The US has turned to elevated economic pressure to force a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and threatened Iran's trading partners. Iran's foreign ministry, in a letter published on Telegram, urged other countries not to implement US sanctions against it, calling the measures illegal. Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.4% at $88.19 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.5% lower at $83.13 per barrel. The Chicago purchasing managers index for August, due at 9:45 am ET, is seen coming in at 57.9, up from its prior value of 57.6, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. The final University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for August, scheduled at 10 am ET, is expected to show consumer sentiment index coming in at 51.0, unchanged from the prior period.