Dow futures fall; Home Depot results, retail sales report in focus

investing.com:

Investing.com — U.S. stock futures traded lower Tuesday, ahead of the release of key retail sales data as well as earnings from home improver retailer Home Depot .

By 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 225 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 Futures traded 27 points, or 0.6%, lower and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 95 points, or 0.6%.

The main equities indices posted gains on Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite the star performer, closing 1.1% higher. This sector has been fueled this year by expectations that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate increases.

Sentiment among global investors improved in August to its least bearish since February 2022, a Bank of America survey showed on Tuesday, with cash allocations falling to 4.8% from 5.3% and the underweight in equities narrowing to the smallest since April 2022.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause its rate-hiking cycle in September at its next policy meeting, but there continues to be debate about whether July's rate increase would be the final one.

The latest U.S. retail sales data, for July, are expected later in the session, and should contribute to the discussion. So far the consumer has been resilient even in the face of rising rates, and analysts expect an increase of 1.5% from the same time last year and 0.4% from the prior month.

There are also earnings reports from a number of top retailers due this week, starting with Home Depot (NYSE:HD), which could firm up expectations on consumer spending trends heading into the crucial holiday sales months this fall.

The home improvement retailer reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly same-store sales, as demand was buoyed by Americans spending on