The Dow led US stocks lower before the bell on Thursday, with Walmart (WMT) earnings in focus before the start of the Federal Reserve's closely watched gathering at Jackson Hole.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) pulled back roughly 0.4%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) moved down 0.2%. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were little changed, as the exodus from tech stocks eased.
Walmart (WMT) capped the week's earnings from retail giants, raising its full-year forecast for sales and profit after its second quarter results showed its low price push was drawing in shoppers. But its quarterly profit fell short of high expectations, and its shares slipped in premarket trading. The
Meanwhile, a continued slide in Big Tech stocks is still a worry, even after the Nasdaq on Wednesday showed signs of a reprieve in coming off firmly off session lows as buyers jumped in. Short sellers have reaped over $5 billion from bets against techs as AI fears rippled through markets.
Dimmed rate-cut hopes are also weighing on minds, after minutes from the Fed's July meeting signaled that sticky inflation rather than a faltering labor market is the main concern for policymakers. There was broad support for holding rates steady, despite a growing divide at the Fed.
Preliminary readings on US manufacturing and services activity in August due later, as well as an update on weekly jobless claims, will be watched for further clues to the path of rates.
The Fed kicks off its Jackson Hole symposium of central bankers from around the world later on Thursday, with the countdown on to Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech on Friday. The gathering is taking place as President Trump puts public pressure on the Fed, most recently calling for Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign. Cook has said she won't be “bullied to step down“.
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