U.S. stock futures traded either side of the flatline Tuesday as investors digested retail sales data as Federal Reserve policymakers meet to discuss monetary policy.
At 08:40 ET (12:40 GMT), Dow Jones Futures dropped 10 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 Futures rose 10 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 50 points, or 0.2%.
The main Wall Street indices posted a winning day on Monday, with both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite notched all-time closing highs, with the former finishing above 6,600 for the first time.
Retail sales rose strongly in August Fed rate cut expectations have been driving much of this rally, with investors widely expecting the Federal Open Market Committee to cut its policy rate by 25 basis points at the end of its meeting on Wednesday.
Investors will also parse the Fed statement for clues whether this likely reduction signals the beginning of a series of cuts rather than a one‐off.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.6% on the month in August, more than the 0.2% growth expected, indicating that the U.S. consumer remains resilient. However, the import price index also rose 0.3% in August, above the 0.2% drop expected, suggesting the growing risk of a tariff-driven spike in inflation.
U.S.-China trade negotiations Supporting risk appetite was a fresh wave of optimism surrounding the ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations in Madrid.
President Donald Trump posted on Monday that the “big Trade Meeting in Europe … has gone VERY WELL!”
He added that “a deal was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save. They will be very happy!” referring to TikTok.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that a framework deal was reached for TikTok’s U.S. ownership, with a call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping slated for Friday to finalize details.
Ford to cuts jobs in Germany In the corporate sector, Ford (NYSE:F) announced plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs in electric car production in the German city of Cologne due to weak demand.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) said on Tuesday it would make £5 billion ($6.80 billion) in new investments into Britain ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to the country, which is expected to feature a flurry of business deals and partnerships.
Elsewhere, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) stock dropped sharply premarket after the chain of restaurants and arcades posted disappointing quarterly earnings.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) stock fell after the aerospace manufacturer announced it had entered into a stock purchase agreement worth up to $750 million, while health insurer Oscar Health (NYSE:OSCR) dropped after announcing a $350 million private offering of senior convertible notes.
Crude heads higher Oil prices rose, adding to the recent gains on the back of potential disruptions in Russian supply following Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow’s energy infrastructure.
At 08:40 ET, Brent futures climbed 0.9% to $68.05 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.2% to $64.04 a barrel.
