Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq stall with Ukraine's fate, Fed policy in focus

US stocks wavered on Monday as investors eyed risks around a high-stakes US-Ukraine meeting, kicking off a week dominated by a Federal Reserve speech that could define the outlook for interest rates.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell just below the flat line, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was also roughly flat, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added nearly 0.1%.

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Geopolitics are front of mind as Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies head for talks with President Trump in Washington, D.C., with the Ukrainian president facing US pressure to accept a peace deal that favors Russia. Wall Street is watching for more details on what Trump agreed with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at their Alaska summit.

But markets are also looking ahead to the main event this week, Jerome Powell's comments at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. His speech — likely to be Powell's last as Fed chair — will be closely followed for clues to the path of monetary policy, after inflation and retail data prompted Wall Street to temper rate cut hopes last week. The annual gathering of central bankers often brings signals of key shifts in Fed thinking, and its policymakers are facing a dilemma over what action to take.

The release of minutes from the Fed's July meeting on Wednesday will set the stage for Jackson Hole in a week light on economic data.

Meanwhile, second quarter earnings season is winding down, with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Blink Charging (BLNK) reports on Monday's docket. With most of the reports in, the results have been mostly positive. Highly anticipated earnings from Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), and Lowe's (LOW) are due later in the week, likely to provide insights into consumer spendingLIVE6 updates

Today at 12:30 PM UTC

Grace O'Donnell

Trump wants to take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public. The plan has some problems.

Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports:

Read more here. Today at 12:07 PM UTC

Grace O'Donnell

Solar stocks rally as Trump administration releases new guidance on tax credits

Solar stocks continued rallying in premarket trading on Monday after the Trump administration clarified new eligibility requirements for tax credits that weren't as burdensome as feared.

Shares of residential solar company Sunrun (RUN) have gained 38% since Friday. SolarEdge shares rose 19%, and First Solar (FSLR) and Enphase Energy (ENPH) stocks are both up more than 10%.

Bloomberg reports:

Read more here. Today at 11:36 AM UTC

Jenny McCall

Good morning. Here's what's happening today.

Economic data: NAHB homebuilder sentiment (August)

Earnings: Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Blink Charging (BLNK)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed over the weekend and early this morning:

Powell's dilemma heading into his final Jackson Hole speech

Trump eyes Fannie and Freddie IPO, but the plan faces hurdles

What to watch this week: Powell at Jackson Hole. Walmart earnings

China's $11 trillion stock market is a headache for both Xi and Trump

US warns that India is 'cozying up' to Russia

Tesla almost halves UK lease fee as sales slump: Report

Goldman: S&P 500 earnings have blown past forecasts

Bond market's rate-cut bets hit decisive stretch with Powell Today at 11:18 AM UTC

Karen Friar

Novo Nordisk stock rises after Wegovy gets new US approval

US-listed shares in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) are gaining before the bell, as investors welcome a US boost for its flagship Wegovy.

Novo is also reportedly planning to hold off from charging more at next year's launch of pill versions of its weight-loss injections, a departure from usual practice as President Trump puts pressure on pharma companies to cut US prices.

Reuters reports:

Shares in Novo Nordisk rose on Monday, after the Danish drugmaker got US approval for its weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat a serious liver condition. That was positive news for Novo which has lost more than one-third of its market value in recent weeks. ...

Three weeks ago, investors wiped $70 billion off its market value, after Novo — which became Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021 — issued a profit warning and named a company veteran as new CEO.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for Wegovy to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, making it the first GLP-1 class therapy cleared for the progressive liver condition that affects around 5% of adults in the United States.

Read more here. Today at 11:08 AM UTC

Karen Friar

Powell at Jackson Hole, Walmart earnings: What to watch this week

The investing world is gearing up for Jerome Powell's comments at Jackson Hole — the most important Fed monetary policy speech of the year, says Yahoo Finance's Myles Udland.

The Fed chair's appearance dominates the week's calendar for markets, which also brings a clutch of retail giant earnings.

Myles reports:

Read more here. Today at 9:26 AM UTC

Brian Sozzi

Goldman team likely to stay in Trump's crosshairs

President Trump has recently offered a few choice words on the work from Goldman Sachs' economics team, led by long-time economist Jan Hatzius.

The team is unlikely to garner some praise from Trump today. Here's what Hatzius and his team served up in a new note on Monday morning:

"After the recent downward revisions to payrolls, our estimate of trend job growth is now clearly below even that low bar at 30k per month. And while the picture could change again for better or worse, future revisions to job growth are more likely to be negative because the birth-death model is likely a bit too generous, changes in trend payroll growth can initially be partially misattributed to changes in seasonal factors, revisions to the raw payrolls data tended to be negative in past slowdowns, data from ADP raise doubts about officially reported payroll growth in healthcare, and the household survey is now overstating immigration and employment gains.

The outlook for job growth has dimmed too. Like the slowdown in activity growth this year, the slowdown in job growth appears to have arisen from more than just the direct effects of trade and immigration policy changes. We are particularly worried that “catch-up hiring” in a few industries now appears over and job growth outside those industries has fallen to around zero. And while job openings remain at a decent level, they started to decline again earlier this year."

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