Dow Jones Faces Challenges Amid Economic Uncertainty and Federal Reserve Speculation

Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Little Changed as Major Indexes Look to Extend Rally

Stephen Wisnefski is the Executive Editor of News at Investopedia. He has more than two decades of experience as a journalist and newsroom leader, including 25 years at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Stocks were poised to open flat on Tuesday as major indexes approach record highs after two weeks of gains. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were wavering between slight gains and losses. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are riding eight-session winning streaks, while the Dow has closed higher on seven of the last eight trading days. The S&P 500 is just 1% away from its July all-time closing high, while the Dow is 0.7% from its record close. Stocks have made an impressive recovery from steep losses earlier in the month as concerns about the health of the economy have subsided, while investors expect the Federal Reserve to deliver long-awaited interest rate cuts starting in September. The economic data calendar is light this week, but investors will be paying close attention to comments from several Fed officials who are slated to speak in the coming days. The big event comes Friday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver remarks at the central bank's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Big-tech stocks, which have led the recent rally, were mixed in premarket trading. AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA), which has gained about 30% over the past eight sessions, was down slightly, as were Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META), while Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) were up slightly. Lowe's (LOW) was down nearly 1% after the company reported disappointing second-quarter sales numbers and lowered its outlook amid a continued slowdown in spending on big-ticket home improvement projects. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares were up 2% in premarket trading after the cybersecurity firm reported stronger-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. Gold futures were up about 1% to a new record high around $2,560 per ounce, while bitcoin was at its highest level in nearly two weeks, near $61,000.

Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Little Changed as Market Looks to Continue Winning Streak

Stephen Wisnefski is the Executive Editor of News at Investopedia. He has more than two decades of experience as a journalist and newsroom leader, including 25 years at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Stock futures tied to major indexes were wavering near unchanged Monday morning as trading gets set to kick off after the best week of 2024 for U.S. equities. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have closed higher for seven consecutive sessions, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained in six of the last seven sessions. Stocks have made an impressive recovery from steep losses earlier in the month as concerns about the health of the economy have subsided, while investors expect the Federal Reserve to deliver long-awaited interest rate cuts starting next month. The economic data calendar is light this week, but investors will be paying close attention to comments from several Fed officials who are slated to speak in the coming days. The big event comes Friday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver remarks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. Mega-cap tech stocks, which have swung wildly in recent weeks amid the market volatility, were mixed ahead of Monday's opening bell. AI investor favorite Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) were higher, while Apple (AAPL) and Meta Platforms (META) were down slightly. On the earnings front, investors are awaiting quarterly results from Palo Alto Networks after Monday's closing bell. Palo Alto shares were up 0.7% in premarket trading Monday. The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which is sensitive to expectations around interest rates, slipped to 3.86% from 3.89% on Friday. Gold futures inched lower to around $2,530 but were still trading near record highs.

US stock futures largely unchanged; Jackson Hole, Fed minutes in focus By Investing.com

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures traded in listless manner Monday, consolidating after the previous week's gains as investors await more clues over future Federal Reserve monetary policy. By 06:35 ET (10:35 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 10 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures traded 2 points, or 0.1%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 4 points, or 0.1%. The main Wall Street indices just recorded their best week of the year as recent positive data relieved worries over the prospect of a recession. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 3.9% for its best week since 2023. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 5.2% and the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.9%. Last week's rally came after a turbulent start to the month in the wake of the disappointing July nonfarm payrolls reading. However, the non-manufacturing ISM index for July rebounded, with its employment component entering expansion territory for the first time since November 2023, economists noted. Moreover, retail sales for July beat expectations, suggesting strong real consumption growth, and initial jobless claims have declined over the past two weeks. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has revised its 12-month U.S. recession probability to 20% from 25%, citing the recent economic data that shows no signs of a downturn. The increase was positioned midway between the long-term average recession probability of 15% -- based on the historical occurrence of a recession every seven years -- and the 35% estimate during the bank turmoil in early 2023. Investors will focus this week on the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting, which are due on Wednesday, ahead of Friday's Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech on Friday. The earnings season continues this week, results due Monday from Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) and Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL). Bank of America's latest fund manager survey showed a decline in the proportion of investors overweight in stocks, dropping to 31% from 51%. The survey also highlighted that 40% of Chief Investment Officers are pushing for CEOs to improve their companies' balance sheets. Despite the ongoing AI boom, the desire for increased capital expenditures has fallen to 24%, the lowest level since November 2023. Crude prices fell Monday on concerns of weaker demand in top oil importer China, with the ceasefire talks in the Middle East remaining in focus. By 06:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) dropped 1.1% to $74.69 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 1% to $78.88 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell nearly 2% at the end of last week after data from China showed its economy lost momentum in July, with new home prices falling at the fastest pace in nine years, industrial output slowing and unemployment rising. Attention turns now to Gaza ceasefire talks, which are set to continue this week in Cairo, following a two-day meeting in Doha last week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called the latest diplomatic push by Washington to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" and urged all parties to get the agreement over the finish line. There has been increased urgency to reach a ceasefire deal amid fears of escalation across the wider region, an upsurge that could impact supply from this oil-rich region.