
Retail Earnings in Focus, FOMC Minutes
U.S. stock futures are slightly lower and extending yesterday’s losses ahead of the Wall Street open. On Tuesday, stocks were weaker led by losses in tech with the Nasdaq-100 down 1.4%.
Retail earnings are in focus today with quarterly reports due from Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW) and TJX (TJX).
Investors are also awaiting July meeting minutes from the Fed due after two Fed Governors dissented at July’s meeting for the first time since 1993. Traders are also focused on Fed Chair Powell’s speech on Friday morning at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for any clues on interest rate policy.
Snapshot (as of 7 AM ET)
- Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are up over 1% near $62.50 a barrel as supply concerns are resurfacing. Oil prices are reversing yesterday's losses through the early part of Wednesday's session. Markets continue to weigh the prospect of a potential peace-deal between Russia and Ukraine that could pave the way for a lifting of sanctions against Russian energy exports. That would add to the looming supply overhang for global oil markets. Industry data showed a 2.4 million barrel decline in U.S. inventories last week, which helped to keep a floor under prices.
- Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are slightly higher near $3370 after hitting their lower level in nearly three weeks overnight as the dollar firmed. Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium later this week for clues on the path for monetary policy.
- Bitcoin (/BTC) – The Crypto Future is up 0.2% near $113,500 in the premarket.
- VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index was up 3.9% on Tuesday and settled at 15.57 as stocks were lower.
- U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is flat around 98.2.
Biggest Premarket Movers (Mark % Change as of 7 AM ET)
- TJX (TJX): +3.63%
- Analog Devices (ADI): +3.54%
- Dayforce (DAY): +3.33%
- Target (TGT): -10.51%
- Estee Lauder (EL): -7.48%
- Micron (MU): -4.34%
Economic Data
- 7:00AM ET: MBA Mortgage Applications
- 10:00AM ET: Atlanta Fed Business Expectations
- 10:30AM ET: Oil Inventories
- 11:00AM ET: Fed’s Waller Speaks
- 1:00PM ET: 20-Year Bond Auction
- 2:00PM ET: FOMC Minutes
- 3:00PM ET: Fed’s Bostic Speaks
Notable Earnings
- Premarket: ALC, ADI, BIDU, DY, EL, GDS, IQ, BEKE, KC, LOW, TGT, TJX, ZIM
- Postmarket: COTY, NDSN, WOLF
- Premarket Tomorrow: BILIL, CSIQ, HOV, VNET, WMT
- Postmarket Tomorrow: INTU, ROST, WDAY, ZM
Upgrades/Downgrades
- BofA upgrades Snowflake (SNOW) to Buy from Neutral
- JPMorgan upgrades J.M. Smucker (SJM) & Hormel (HRL) to Overweight from Neutral
- JPMorgan upgrades Upstart (UPST) to Overweight from Neutral
- Daiwa downgrades Applied Materials (AMAT) to Neutral from Outperform
- Citi downgrades Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Urban Outfitters (URBN) & Gap (GPS) to Neutral from Buy
- JPMorgan downgrades Kroger (KR) to Neutral from Overweight