U.S. stock futures indicate a mostly flat start on Tuesday, suggesting that markets may continue the muted performance seen in Monday’s session.
Investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of several significant economic events later this week, including the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting minutes on Wednesday and the start of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the symposium on Friday, with his comments potentially shaping expectations for interest rates.
The CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently assigns an 83.1% probability that the Fed will reduce interest rates by a quarter point at its September meeting.
In addition, reports on weekly jobless claims, existing home sales, and leading economic indicators are expected to draw attention in the coming days.
On the domestic economic front, the Commerce Department reported this morning a surprising rise in new residential construction in July.
After two consecutive weeks of gains, U.S. stocks showed little direction on Monday. The major averages oscillated around the unchanged line throughout the session before ending largely flat.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 6.80 points, or less than 0.1%, to 21,629.77, while the S&P 500 edged down 0.65 points to 6,449.15. The Dow slipped 34.30 points, or roughly 0.1%, to 44,911.82.
The choppy market action coincided with high-level meetings at the White House, where President Donald Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders.
These meetings followed Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska, which produced some progress but no formal agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump asserted, “Zelenskyy has the power to end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to.”
Investors are also anticipating remarks from central bank officials at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium later this week.
On the housing front, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported a slight decline in builder confidence in August. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index dropped to 32 from 33 in July, missing economists’ expectations of an unchanged reading.
Most major sectors showed only minor movements on Monday, reinforcing the broader market’s lackluster trend.
However, natural gas stocks were notably weaker, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index falling 1.5% amid a drop in the commodity’s price. Commercial real estate stocks also weakened, while oil service shares moved higher alongside rising crude prices, pushing the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up 1.2%.
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