U.S. stock futures edged higher Tuesday, as investors attempted to build on the momentum of the previous session ahead of more earnings from major retailers.
By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 80 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures traded 20 points, or 0.4%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 87 points, or 0.6%.
The main equities indices closed in a mixed fashion Monday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping slightly, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7%.
The highlight, however, came from the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which rose over 200 points, or 1.6%, its biggest gain of the month, even as the yield on the 10-year Treasury reached its highest level since November 2007.
This jump was largely based on hefty gains by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), which closed over 8% higher, the biggest jump in nearly three months, as investors wanted exposure to the world’s most valuable chip designer ahead of quarterly results on Wednesday.
More retail earnings due
The retail sector will remain in focus Tuesday, with home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) posting a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly comparable sales and topped estimates for profit, helped by a boost from delayed spring season sales and sustained consumer spending on smaller projects.
The consumer has remained resilient in the face of inflation, which has been cooling off compared with last year’s pace. Retailers should be able to project consumer spending trends heading into their important holiday sales season.
Arm releases IPO prospectus
Elsewhere, SoftBank-owned (TYO:9984) Arm has released a preliminary prospectus for a Nasdaq listing, firing the starting gun on a long-awaited initial public offering that could be one of the biggest U.S. flotations in nearly two years.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has proposed a revised version of its merger with “Call of Duty”-maker Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) in a bid to receive approval from U.K. competition authorities for the video-gaming industry’s largest-ever tie-up.
Existing home sales due
The economic data slate is largely bare Tuesday. The main release is the sales of existing homes for July, with analysts expecting an annualized number of 4.15 million, down slightly from the month before.
The week’s main focus, however, is the Federal Reserve’s annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, starting at the end of the week. Friday’s speech by Chair Jerome Powell will be the highlight as investors look for clarity on the economic outlook and the future path of interest rates.
Crude retreats ahead of API inventories
Oil prices edged lower Tuesday, as traders warily weighed the prospect of a faltering Chinese economic recovery, while also awaiting more signals on U.S. monetary policy at the Jackson Hole symposium at the end of the week.
U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories are also due later in the session from the American Petroleum Institute industry group, while the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, will release its own data on Wednesday.
By 06:30 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% lower at $79.82 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.4% to $84.09.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,932.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.0894.
