U.S. stock index futures dipped Wednesday as traders eyed publication later in the day of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its July rate-setting meeting.
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S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-0.08%
declined 3 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,451 -
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
-0.05%
lost 6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 35,005 Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
-0.11%
fell 11.3 points, or 0.1%, to 15,096
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA
fell 361 points, or 1.02%, to 34946, the S&P 500
SPX
declined 52 points, or 1.16%, to 4438, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP
dropped 157 points, or 1.14%, to 13631.
What’s driving markets
Equity-index futures edged lower early Wednesday as investors awaited the release of the Fed minutes from its last policy meeting.
The S&P 500 has fallen eight of the last 11 sessions after 10-year Treasury yields
BX:TMUBMUSD10Y
moved up toward 4.25%, close to their highest levels since 2008, amid concerns about an increased supply of government paper, and as economic data continues to generally surprise to the upside, suggesting the Federal Reserve has room to keep interest rates high for longer to combat inflation.
“Rising Treasury yields have dampened the outlook for the equity market. At the same time, concerns about China’s faltering economy continued to weigh commodity and currency markets after the latest batch of weaker-than-expected data,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
The 10-year Treasury yield was up 2 basis points to 4.220% Wednesday, according to Dow Jones market data.
“If U.S. yields continue to drift higher from here, we will likely feel more air pockets that could have increasingly significant implications for broader risk markets,” Innes added.
The next big catalyst for equity and bond markets is likely to be minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held last month, due for release at 2 p.m. Eastern, which may provide more insight into the central bank’s thinking.
For U.S. economic updates Wednesday, U.S. housing starts rose 3.9% in July after a revised 11.7% drop in June. U.S. building permits climbed 0.1% in July.
Industrial production and capacity utilization for July arrives at 9:15 a.m.
Companies in focus
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Target Corp.
TGT,
-2.55%
gave back early gains to decline 2.6% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the retailer beat profit estimates for the second quarter by a wide margin, offsetting a revenue miss and lowered guidance. -
TJX Co
TJX,
-0.51%
dipped 0.5% after the discount retailer swept past estimates for the second quarter and raised its guidance. -
H&R Block Inc.’s stock
HRB,
+0.54%
rose 0.5% after the tax preparer’s earnings and forecast both topped Wall Street expectations. -
Cava Group Inc.
CAVA,
-3.05%
fell 3% after the fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant chain and recent IPO reported second-quarter results that beat expectations. -
Stride Inc
LRN,
-1.52%
edged 1.5% lower after the online-education company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates. Stride attributed revenue growth in fiscal 2023 to enrollment strength and increases in revenue per enrollment.
