U.S. stock futures are lower as investors wait for more big box retail earnings reports and any hints of an imminent Federal Reserve rate cut.
Before the opening bell, Minnesota-based retailer Target and home improvement company Lowe’s are slated to report quarterly results. Discount giant Walmart is due the next morning. Large retailer earnings can provide a window into how tariffs are affecting companies and consumer spending. Recent retail sales data showed consumers continued to spend last month, but another report signaled waning consumer sentiment and a pick up in inflation worries.
At 6:10 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow fell -0.18%, while broad S&P 500 futures slipped -0.13% and tech-laden Nasdaq futures lost -0.17%.
Aside from retailer earnings, investors are looking for any signs the Fed will lower rates at its next policy meeting in September.
Minutes from the last policy meeting are due in the afternoon, and investors will get a glimpse into how the discussion over keeping rates unchanged went and what could flip some members towards a rate cut next month. Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted against the central bank’s decision to keep rates steady between 4.25%-4.50% last month. It was the first time since 1993 that two governors dissented.
The main event, though, comes at the end of the week with Fed Chair Jerome Powell‘s speech at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium of global central bankers and finance chiefs. Investors will be looking for hints Powell may be done waiting to see tariff effects before cutting rates again.
Many economists expect Powell to suggest he’s open to a rate cut but fall short of signalling one is coming. Nevertheless, the CME FedWatch tool that shows the likelihood that the Fed will change rates at each policy meeting based on market trading suggests an 86.5% chance of the Fed easing rates in September.
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La-Z-Boy missed adjusted earnings per share estimates in the first three months of its fiscal quarter and gave a sales outlook for the current quarter that fell below expectations.
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Toll Brothers’ fiscal third-quarter results topped forecasts.
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James Hardie’s results in the first three months of its fiscal year missed estimates. It also sees annual earnings below forecasts due to a softer U.S. market.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stock futures down as investors await earnings, hint of Fed cut
