Editor’s Note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs were updated in the story
U.S. stock futures slipped on Monday following Friday’s mixed moves. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.
All eyes will be on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell‘s upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday.
The theme for the 2025 symposium, which will take place from Aug. 21-23, is "Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy."
Meanwhile, investors will also focus on the earnings from top U.S. retailers this week, including Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT), Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE:LOW), and Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD)
According to FactSet, out of the 92% of S&P 500 companies that have already reported this quarter, 82% of the companies have surpassed Wall Street's expectations.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.29% and the two-year bond was at 3.74%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing an 84.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates for the Sept. 17 decision.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.06% |
| S&P 500 | -0.12% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.13% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.13% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell in premarket on Monday. The SPY was down 0.11% at $642.73, while the QQQ declined 0.18% to $576.32, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Sectors recording the biggest losses on Friday included financials, industrials, and information technology, while real estate and health care services bucked the overall market trend.
Consequently, U.S. stocks settled mixed, with the S&P 500 closing lower as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of the Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin meeting and after data showed a dip in consumer confidence alongside mounting inflation concerns. However, the broad market index still managed to record gains last week.
For the week, the Dow jumped 1.74%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose 0.94% and 0.81%, respectively, showing solid weekly performance.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) shares jumped a notable 12% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) announced it had bought shares, which had previously tumbled by over 40% year-to-date.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) rose 3% on reports that the U.S. administration is considering taking a stake in the company to bolster domestic chip manufacturing.
On the economic data front, retail sales for July rose by 0.5% on a month-over-month basis, coming in as expected. However, consumer weakness surfaced in the latest University of Michigan’s flash consumer sentiment report for August. The University of Michigan's preliminary August survey showed consumer sentiment slipping to 58.6 from 61.7, missing expectations of 62.
The Dow Jones index ended 35 points or 0.078% higher at 44,946.12, whereas the S&P 500 index fell 0.29% to 6,449.80. Nasdaq Composite declined 0.40% to 21,622.98, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, tumbled 0.55% to end at 2,286.52.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.40% | 21,622.98 |
| S&P 500 | -0.29% | 6,449.80 |
| Dow Jones | 0.078% | 44,946.12 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.55% | 2,286.52 |
Insights From Analysts
Tom Lee of FundStrat expressed his hope for a "conciliatory tone” on the rate cuts from the Fed Chair Powell during his upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole economic symposium.
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers criticized the current U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for weighing too directly on the direction of interest rates, something he believes could blur the lines between fiscal and monetary polices.
Summers, who served as the Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, says that he is surprised to see Bessent "be that prescriptive on interest rates," noting that usually administrative officials aren't involved in such judgements, while adding that he's "not sure it's helpful for the Administration to be publicly prescribing on monetary policy."
He also points to multiple forces that he believes are driving higher demand for capital, including "substantially elevated deficit spending," a surge in "data center spending," reduced U.S. trade deficits, and "higher asset prices" that limit the flow of savings.
Altogether, he says, these dynamics suggest that "neutral interest rates have risen quite substantially," noting that under such circumstances Bessent’s stance on steep rate reductions was misplaced.
In such a case, he notes, you shouldn't be "prescribing [a] 175 basis point cut in rates unless we see a recession."
Meanwhile, economist Peter Schiff said that President Trump's tariffs are likely headed for defeat at the U.S. Appellate Court, setting the stage for what he refers to as "another scapegoat" for the coming recession.
On Sunday, in a post on X, Schiff said, "The U.S. appellate court will likely strike down Trump’s tariffs as unconstitutional," bringing an end to a central piece of Trump's trade policy, while also opening the door for American importers to recover substantial sums of money already paid as tariffs.
"That means U.S. importers can get refunds on amounts paid," Schiff says, referring to the billions that the administration has collected from tariffs in recent months.
Schiff believes that this essentially sets the stage for Trump to blame "another scapegoat" for the upcoming recession, alongside Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he's been repeatedly attacking for not cutting rates fast enough, and former President Joe Biden.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on this week;
- On Monday, August’s home builder confidence index data will be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- On Tuesday, July’s housing start and building permits data will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- On Wednesday, the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July FOMC meeting will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.
- On Thursday, the initial jobless claims data for the week ending Aug. 16, and August’s Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey data will be announced at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- August’s S&P flash U.S. services PMI and S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI will be out by 9:45 a.m. ET.
- July’s existing home sales and U.S. leading economic indicators will also be released by 10:00 a.m. ET.
- The three-day annual Jackson Hole Symposium will also commence on Thursday, Aug. 21, in Wyoming.
- On Friday, Jerome Powell will speak at Jackson Hole.
Stocks In Focus
- Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) was up 0.50% in premarket on Monday as it is expected to report earnings after the closing bell. Analysts estimate earnings of 89 cents per share on revenue of $2.50 billion.
- XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP) rose 0.85% as analysts expect it to report earnings of 39 cents per share on revenue of $834.73 million after the closing bell.
- Allarity Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:ALLR) rose 3.32% as it reported better-than-expected EPS in the second quarter. Its quarterly loss of 15 cents per share was better than the market estimates of a loss of 21 cents per share.
- UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) continued its momentum, up 3.32% following disclosure that legendary investors Michael Burry and Warren Buffett have taken significant positions in the healthcare giant.
- Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR) was down 1.03% as its earnings per share missed Wall Street expectations.
- Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN) rose 4.42% after CEO Carrie Wheeler stepped down. According to J.P. Morgan, Opendoor’s value proposition, making home selling simple and fast, remains intact, but stresses the importance of appointing a leader capable of navigating ongoing housing market challenges and executing the business model transformation.
- Sharplink Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ:SBET) tumbled 4.08% after the company reported a year-over-year decline in second-quarter sales and posted a significant net loss.
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.29% to hover around $62.16 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.45% to hover around $3,350.32 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,500.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.13% higher at the 97.9790 level.
Asian markets ended higher on Monday, except Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi indices. China’s CSI 300, Japan's Nikkei 225 indices fell, Australia's ASX 200, and India's S&P BSE Sensex indices rose. European markets were lower in early trade.
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