Dow futures edge higher; Fed minutes in the spotlight
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures edged higher Wednesday, rebounding after the previous session’s sharp losses ahead of the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve as well as earnings from retail giant Target.
By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 10 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures traded 2 points, or 0.1% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 23 points, or 0.2%.
The main equities indices all fell over 1% Tuesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data increased worries interest rates could stay higher for longer, while U.S. big banks dropped on a report that Fitch could downgrade some lenders.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause its rate-hiking cycle in September at its next policy meeting, but the strong retail sales growth indicated that U.S. consumers continue to be resilient, potentially adding to inflationary pressures further down the line.
The Fed's policy making panel will release the minutes of its July meeting later in the session, and this is likely to provide investors with more insight into officials' thinking on where interest rates should go for the rest of the year.
There is also more economic data to digest, including industrial and manufacturing production numbers for July as well as housing starts figures.
In corporate news, the retail sector will remain in focus, with Target (NYSE:TGT) the highlight, as the big-box retailer is expected to post its first quarterly revenue decline in six years when it unveils its latest results Wednesday.
Target, which relies heavily on expenditures on such discretionary items to fuel its business, has already warned that returns would be weaker during the April to June period.
There are earnings reports from a number
Read more on investing.com
