The spotlight will also likely be on the week’s key data points that will have readthroughs for next month’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the three-day Jackson Hole Symposium.
U.S. index futures traded on a lackluster note early Monday after the major averages recorded weekly gains in the past week.
The uncertainty surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war, following the Alaska summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which ended in a stalemate, could dent sentiment among traders. The spotlight is also on an array of economic data coming in this week, which has readthroughs for next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, and the three-day Jackson Hole Symposium kicking off on Thursday.
The three-day symposium, held annually and hosted by the Kansas City Federal Reserve, provides a platform for central bank heads, academics, U.S. government representatives, and financial market participants to discuss long-term policy issues.
The rate-cut chatter that has gained ground, with investors vying for hints from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The current interest rate stands at 4.25%-4.50%.
As of 5:05 a.m. ET on Monday, the Dow futures fell 0.05%, the S&P 500 futures and the Nasdaq 100 futures declined over 0.11% each, while the Russell 2000 futures rose 0.13%.
Last week, the market advanced, with an in-line consumer price inflation reading and an extension to the U.S.-China trade truce helping offset worries triggered by the U.S.-China tussle in the semiconductor space. In the latter part of last week, a hotter-than-expected producer price inflation report triggered weakness, trimming the week’s gains.
The S&P 500 hit fresh records for two consecutive sessions before easing, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its first intraday record for the year on Friday.
For the week, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, ended up 0.50%, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 0.98%. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) and iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) rallied 1.8% and 3.09%, respectively.
The key Main Street catalysts for the week are the minutes of the July FOMC meeting, due on Wednesday, the weekly jobless claims data, and S&P flash manufacturing and services sector readings for August.
Traders may also focus on the regional manufacturing activity data for August, a trio of housing market readings, and the Conference Board’s leading economic index for July.
On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders is due to release its housing market index for August, with economists, on average, expecting a reading of 34, up from 33 in July.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is scheduled to report its earnings after the market closes. The week will witness key retail earnings from companies such as Walmart, Inc. (WMT) and Home Depot, Inc. (HD).
Crude oil futures slipped below the $62-a-barrel after Trump’s summit with Putin, and gold futures are modestly higher below the $3,400 mark.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield traded below the 4.3% mark.
The U.S. dollar was firmer against most major currencies, except the commodity currencies.
Among global markets, Asian stocks closed on a mixed note.
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