US stock futures flat ahead of big box retailer results

U.S. stock futures are flat after a listless start to the week as investors stayed sidelined ahead of quarterly results from big box retailers and a conference of global financial leaders later this week.

Discount giants Walmart and Target and home improvement company Lowe's are slated to report around midweek. Home Depot is due before the market opens. These earnings can provide a window into how tariffs are affecting companies and consumer spending.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to give a speech at the end of the week at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium of global central bankers and finance chiefs. Investors will be looking for hints Powell may be done waiting to see tariff effects before cutting rates again.

The CME FedWatch tool that shows the likelihood that the Fed will change rates at each policy meeting based on market trading suggests a nearly 84% chance of the Fed easing rates in September.

Before Powell's speech, investors will get a glimpse midweek of the dissents at the last Fed meeting. Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted against the central bank's decision to keep rates unchanged between 4.25%-4.50% last month. It was the first time since 1993 that two governors dissented.

At 6:10 a.m. ET, futures linked to the blue-chip Dow added 0.03%, while broad S&P 500 futures slipped -0.06% and tech-laden Nasdaq futures fell -0.05%.

Corporate news

Palo Alto Networks topped estimates in the last three months of its fiscal year. Its guidance for the first three months of its fiscal year and for the full year also topped expectations. Founder Nir Zuk also is retiring as chief technology officer. Intel is getting a $2 billion investment from Softbank. The Japanese investment firm is buying around 87 million shares, or roughly 2% of Intel’s outstanding shares, at $23 apiece. Tegna is in the middle of a bidding war after Sinclair offered to merge its broadcast TV business in a deal that would value Tegna shares at around $25 to $30 apiece, the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources. Tegna is already in advanced talks to sell itself to Nexstar Media Group.FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

Medora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stock futures flat ahead of big box retailer results