US futures slip ahead of Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech; retail earnings in focus

US markets eye Powell as retail earnings roll in

US stock futures slipped slightly on Tuesday as investors weighed a fresh round of retail earnings and looked ahead to a pivotal speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole later this week. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down two points, hovering near the flatline, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures eased about nought point one percent each.

Home Depot shares fell nearly two percent in pre-market trade after the home improvement chain reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings of 4.68 dollars a share on 45.28 billion dollars of revenue. Analysts had forecast 4.71 dollars a share on 45.36 billion dollars. Still, the company maintained its full-year outlook.

Attention will soon turn to results from Lowe’s, Walmart, and Target, due later this week, as investors seek clues on consumer resilience in the face of sticky inflation and shifting US trade policy.

Markets are also fixated on Powell’s address at Jackson Hole, where global central bankers will convene for the Federal Reserve’s annual economic symposium. Treasury Partners’ Richard Saperstein said Powell is likely to use the opportunity to prepare markets for a twenty-five basis point rate cut in September and signal a more accommodative stance through year-end. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, futures markets are pricing in an eighty-three percent chance of a cut at the September meeting.

The cautious tone followed a quiet start to the week, with the S&P 500 closing less than one point lower on Monday, just shy of its record high reached last week.

European markets: Peace hopes lift sentiment as defence stocks slump

European shares opened broadly higher on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump promised Ukraine “security guarantees” during talks in Washington with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, boosting hopes of peace in the region. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose about zero point six percent in early trade.

Defence stocks, however, retreated on the news. The Stoxx Europe aerospace and defence index shed two point two percent, with Germany’s Renk down seven percent, Italy’s Leonardo off six point nine percent, Germany’s Hensoldt lower by six point three percent, and Sweden’s Saab down five point nine percent.

Elsewhere, Germany’s DAX, France’s CAC 40, and London’s FTSE 100 posted modest gains, while Euro Stoxx 50 futures added about zero point three percent.

Asia: Mixed trading as investors await Fed cues

Asian markets were subdued as investors awaited Powell’s remarks later in the week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 briefly touched a record intraday high before easing between nought point one to nought point five percent, dragged lower by a more than five percent drop in SoftBank after it announced a two billion dollar investment in Intel.

The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific index slipped around nought point two percent. Oil prices edged lower, while gold firmed slightly on safe-haven demand.

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