Walmart to report, Biden-Xi meeting - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures inch broadly lower on Thursday after a positive session on Wall Street, while traders look ahead to retail chain Walmart's (NYSE:WMT) forecast for the holiday shopping season. Elsewhere, President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agree to re-open military communications after a crucial face-to-face meeting, and the U.S. Senate approves a stop-gap spending bill that will almost certainly avert a looming partial government shutdown.

1. Futures point broadly lower

U.S. stock futures edged lower on Thursday, but remained relatively close to the flatline, following a positive close in the prior session.

By 05:00 ET (10:00 GMT), the Dow futures contract was mostly unchanged, S&P 500 futures shed 3 points or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 31 points or 0.2%.

The main indices on Wall Street ended Wednesday in the green, fueled in part by the largest monthly drop in wholesale prices since 2020 in October. The figure, which came a day after data showed that consumer prices grew at a slower-than-anticipated rate last month, added to optimism that the Federal Reserve's long-standing campaign of interest rate hikes may have peaked.

At the closing bell, the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 0.5%, the benchmark S&P 500 had risen by 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite had climbed by 0.1%.

2. Walmart earnings ahead

Walmart is set to deliver its latest quarterly results on Thursday, with investors keen for more details on how the retail giant sees trading evolving heading into the key holiday shopping season.

Total U.S. comparable sales, excluding gasoline, are estimated to rise by 3.35% in the third quarter, while adjusted earnings per share are seen at $1.52, according