Stock market today: Wall Street futures rise ahead of Fed meeting, more retail earnings | Associated Press

Wall Street hinted at gains early Tuesday as markets digested more earnings from retailers while awaiting guidance on Federal Reserve interest rates at this week’s conference.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up 0.6% before Tuesday’s bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.

Traders are hoping officials at the Fed’s summer conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will say they’re done raising interest rates from their highest levels in two decades. However, forecasters warn that inflation is not yet under control.

Upward pressure on prices has eased significantly this year, although consumer inflation accelerated to 3.2% in July from 3% in the previous month. That’s down from last year’s peak of over 9%, but more than the Fed’s 2% target.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell “may even mention that further rate hikes cannot be completely ruled out,” ACY Securities’ Clifford Bennett said in a report.

Economists say containing what remains of inflation may be the Fed’s biggest challenge.

The Jackson Hole meeting will be closely watched as Fed officials have used it to announce policy changes in the past.

The Fed indicated in its July meeting minutes that it would base future decisions on hiring, inflation and other data. The government will release its monthly jobs report and an inflation update next week.

On company news, Macy’s reported a loss of $22 million, or 8 cents a share, last quarter. Adjusted for a non-cash compensation fee related to pension obligations, earnings for the most recent quarter were 26 cents a share. Like other retailers, Macy’s saw sales fall to $5.28 billion from $5.83 billion a year earlier. Its shares fell 3.5% premarket.

Lowe’s rose nearly 3% after the home improvement chain beat profit targets in the second quarter, despite reporting a sharp decline in sales year over year.

Target and Home Depot also recently reported declining sales, particularly for high-priced items like gadgets that often require financing. This has become a problem as interest rates have risen rapidly in the last year and credit cards have become a much bigger burden for consumers.

Dick’s Sporting Goods shares fell 19% after the retailer fell well short of Wall Street’s profit targets and lowered its full-year profit outlook on fears of theft at its stores.

At midday in Europe, the FTSE 100 in London was up 0.6%, while the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX in Frankfurt were each up 1.2%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.9% to 3,120.22 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.9% to 31,856.71. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9% to 17,791.01.

Seoul’s Kospi was up 0.3% to 2,515.74 and Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 was up 0.1% to 7,121.60.

India’s Sensex was up less than 0.1% to 65,254.06. The markets of New Zealand and Southeast Asia grew.

In energy markets, U.S. crude fell 40 cents to $80.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, fell 48 cents to $83.98 a barrel in London.

The dollar fell to 145.75 yen from 146.11 yen on Monday. The euro slipped from $1.0899 to $1.0889.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.7% on Monday, posting its first gain in five days as tech stocks rallied. The Dow slipped 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.6%.

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McDonald reported from Beijing; Ott reported from Silver Spring, Maryland.

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