Putin, Earnings, Fed: 3 Things

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies are arriving in Washington today. they're anxious to find out what Donald Trump committed to at his summit with Vladimir Putin. They're also apprehensive that he’ll force Kyiv into making unpalatable concessions. Big box retailers will be in focus this week - the likes of Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT) and Home Depot (HD) all on deck. Jerome Powell also heads to Jackson Hole ahead of a keynote speech.

Video Transcript

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Well, we kick off the things you need to know by taking a look at where Wall Street might open once that opening bell rings. And US stock futures are hovering near all-time highs in a week where geopolitics and news out of the Federal Reserve should shape investor sentiment. We start with geopolitics. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his European allies are arriving in Washington today. They're anxious to find out what Donald Trump committed to at his summit with Vladimir Putin. They're also apprehensive that he'll force Kiev into making unpalatable concessions. Remember on Friday, Trump held discussions with the Russian president in Alaska. The US president said after the talks with Vladimir Putin that he'll urge Zelensky to make a quick deal and sounded receptive to the Russian leader's demand that Ukraine give up large swathe of land. But Kiev and its European allies will want the US president to spell out security guarantees for Ukraine. Overnight on Truth Social, Trump said that the Ukrainian president can end the war, quote, almost immediately if he wants to. And said that today would be a big day at the White House. Next up and earnings. Big box retailers will be in focus this week. The likes of Walmart, Target, and Home Depot all on deck. On Friday, we found out that consumers, on the face of it, seem resilient. Retail sales grew 0.5% in July with a pickup in sales at car dealerships and at furniture stores. Online spending also jumped, unsurprising really, as the data coincided with Amazon's Prime Day sales event. But consumer sentiment still remains below where it was late last year. It fell 5% this month with the University of Michigan reading coming in at 58.6, the first decline in four months. It's also a big week for the Fed. Comments from Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium alongside minutes to the Fed's most recent meeting will be closely watched as investors increasingly anticipate that US interest rate cuts will resume next month. Recent weak US jobs data alongside inflation data, which didn't reveal tariffs having a worrying impact on prices, have caused investors to expect that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates in September. Powell himself is scheduled to speak at Jackson Hole on Friday. His comments will be eagerly anticipated as investors hope for clues about the interest rate path.

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