U.S. stock futures were trading lower early Wednesday as traders awaited earnings reports from America’s big-box retailers and the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 (SPX) were down 0.23%, 0.27%, and 0.21%, respectively, at 5:15 a.m. EST on August 20.
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In Tuesday’s trading session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.59% and 1.46%, respectively. In contrast, the Dow posted a slight gain of 0.02%, supported by a post-earnings rally in Home Depot (HD) shares.
Home Depot stock jumped over 4% yesterday despite missing Q2 earnings and sales expectations. Analysts had largely expected the miss and were more focused on Home Depot’s forecast, which it kept unchanged.
On the economic front, markets are awaiting the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes this afternoon, along with a speech from Christopher Waller, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Waller was one of two governors who dissented from the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates steady in July.
Turning to the earnings season, major retailers including Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), and TJX (TJX) are scheduled to report today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was up, floating near 4.30%. WTI crude oil futures were trending higher, hovering near $63.00 per barrel as of the last check. Additionally, the Gold Spot U.S. dollar price increased to nearly $3,366 per ounce on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, European stocks opened lower after defense stocks declined on optimism following the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting, which bolstered hopes for peace in Ukraine. Moreover, the UK’s inflation reading for July came in hotter-than-expected at 3.8%.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Mixed Today
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed today after China left its lending rate unchanged, in line with expectations. Meanwhile, Japan’s trade data showed a 2.6% year-over-year decline in exports for July, marking the steepest fall in more than four years.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose by 0.17%. In China, the Shanghai Composite advanced 1.04%, while the Shenzhen Component added 0.89%. In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei declined 1.51%, and the Topix fell 0.57%.
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