Dow Futures Slip, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Climb Ahead Of Key Retail Earnings, Fed Minutes: NLST, AVGO, LUNR, MRK Stocks In Focus

Dow futures were down 0.09%, while the S&P 500 futures climbed 0.09% and the Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.25% at the time of writing.

• The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are coming off three consecutive weeks of gains, with the former notching fresh record highs in the recent sessions. 
• Home Depot is expected to post results on Tuesday, while Target’s print is expected on Wednesday and Walmart will report its latest earnings on Thursday. 
• The Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran, drafted to contain the escalating conflict between the two countries, is set to expire on Monday.

U.S. stock futures were trading mixed in the overnight session late Sunday ahead of quarterly reports from key retailers including Walmart Inc. (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), and Home Depot, Inc. (HD), among others. 

Dow futures were down 0.09%, while the S&P 500 futures climbed 0.09% and the Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.25% at 9:33 PM EDT.  

On Friday, all three benchmark indexes closed lower, with the Nasdaq Composite leading the decline, down 0.28% at close. The Dow and S&P 500 also closed down 0.20% and 0.17%, respectively. 

Index	Move	Close
Dow Jones Industrial Average	-0.20%	53,732.41
S&P 500	-0.17%	7,785.76
Nasdaq Composite	-0.28%	26,729.16

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are coming off three consecutive weeks of gains, with the former notching fresh record highs in the recent sessions. 

Meanwhile, the Dow snapped two weeks of gains to end about 0.56% lower last week.

A Stocktwits poll that sought to gauge how investors expect the S&P 500 to move next week found that nearly half of those who voted expect the index to climb more than 1%. About 20% of those who voted expect it to move between flat to 1%. The rest expect the index to decline. 

Key US Market Drivers

U.S. markets were closely watching inflation data last week. July’s PPI came in flat, falling short of expectations for a 0.2% increase, following a subdued CPI report that showed consumer prices rising 0.1% month-over-month and 3.4% year-over-year.

This eased concerns of a near-term rate hike from the Federal Reserve in its upcoming September session. According to data from the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a Fed rate hike in September is down to 33.1% from 44.4% a week earlier. 

Markets will now be watching the Fed’s July meeting minutes, expected on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the last leg of the earnings season will bring quarterly updates from major retailers this week. Home Depot is expected to post results on Tuesday, while Target’s print is expected on Wednesday and Walmart will report its latest earnings on Thursday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOWE) and TJX Companies (TJX) are also reporting their latest results this week. 

Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, noted in a post on X, “Looking ahead, and even with the release of the Fed minutes, don't expect this week’s economic data to resolve the dissonance among rallying equities, rising bond yields, lower expectations for Fed rate hikes, and softening consumer data—all within an ecosystem undergoing secular and structural transformations.”

On the geopolitical front, tensions between Iran and the U.S. continue into the week. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday at a rally in New York that after the U.S. finishes defeating Iran, he will be claiming “the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Major General Hatami has said “that the sacred Strait of Hormuz is essential to bringing the war to an end, and affirmed that Iran will defend it with full force,” the Islamic Republic News Agency said in a post on X. 

The Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran, drafted to contain the escalating conflict between the two countries, is also set to expire on Monday. The agreement is unlikely to be extended, as both countries have accused each other of violating it for weeks.

Global oil prices were trending lower at the time of writing. Brent crude futures expiring in October were down about 0.06% to $88.47 a barrel. Meanwhile, WTI crude futures expiring in September were trading at $82.06 per barrel, down about 0.41% at the time of writing. 

Trump also said over the weekend that he has ordered a substantial reduction in U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises, calling them costly and unnecessarily hostile toward North Korea. “Based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un, of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has, long ago, agreed to participate in Joint Military Exercises with South Korea. These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States of America (as usual!), but send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile, to a Country that, as long as Donald J. Trump has been President, has been unthreatening and respectful. Therefore, and based on the fact that it is too late to cancel, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to substantially reduce the Joint Military Exercises! While somewhat unrelated (?), I recently asked the President of South Korea if they would like to join us in the Denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and they said, ‘No thanks!’” he said in a post on X. 

Trending Stocks To Watch 

Netlist Inc. (NLST): The company’s stock was on top of the retail radar after it said last week that it has launched new patent-infringement proceedings against Micron, Supermicro, HPE and Lenovo. Latest regulatory filings also show that Gail M. Sasaki, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Netlist, sold 25,000 shares of the company’s common stock on Aug. 5.

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO): The chipmaker’s shares fell nearly 6% on Friday at close after Bank of America flagged a $370 billion estimate tied to its off-balance-sheet financing related to its AI chip-financing platform in a note. 

Intuitive Machines Inc. (LUNR): Shares of the company attracted retail attention after Cantor Fitzgerald and B.Riley lowered price targets on the stock. 

Merck & Co Inc. (MRK): The biopharmaceutical company’s shares hit a 52-week high on Friday, climbing to $135.97 during the trading session amid its recent upward trajectory. 

Other Market Trends 

Yields on the 10-year Treasury were at 4.682% at the time of writing, while spot gold prices climbed to $4,406.23 per ounce. 

Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) edged higher at the time of writing, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) trended lower.   

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was up 0.07% amid ‘bearish’ sentiment.

Asian markets were trading mixed at the open on Monday. South Korea's KOSPI was up more than 2% at the time of writing, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down. China’s SSE Composite was trading flat at the open, while Australian stocks declined.   

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.<