U.S. stocks remained lower in final hour of trading on Tuesday, as investors turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was falling 0.

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 slid on Tuesday driven by tech stocks, as investors gear up for what Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will say about the path of interest rates at a key conference later in the week.

European stocks opened lower on Wednesday, with defence shares weighing on the Stoxx 600. Traders also digested hotter UK inflation data and awaited clues from the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium.

US tech stocks sold off on Tuesday, and Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell will be between a rock and a hard place when he delivers his speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium this Friday. Plus, Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk has fallen behind its rivals. Does it have a plan to catch up?

Stocks start the week just shy of record highs, underpinned by a well-received corporate earnings season and hopes the Federal Reserve will soon start reducing official borrowing costs again. Investors are therefore keen that Friday’s keynote address by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium will be suitably dovish.

U.S. stocks have tended to fare well around the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole gathering in August, according to a historical analysis from DataTrek Research, although the market has seen sizable moves in both directions in recent years.