U.S. stock futures barely moved Sunday night as traders wait on this week's Federal Reserve minutes for clues on interest rates. The S&P 500 just closed a third straight winning week even after slipping Friday, and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's lighter approach to guidance is pushing investors to parse every data point themselves.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 11 points, or 0.02%, Sunday night. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
Wall Street is coming off three consecutive weeks of gains for the S&P 500, which notched fresh all-time highs last week following a strong earnings season. Stocks fell Friday, but the S&P 500 still rose 0.4% over the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1% for the week. The Dow slipped 0.6% over the same period.
CNBC reported that the stock market has continued to climb in the face of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East and concerns around the artificial-intelligence trade. Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, wrote Friday that investors are growing more confident, "leaving the bears with fewer and fewer narratives to chew on."
Investors are watching for the minutes of last month's Federal Open Market Committee meeting, due out Wednesday, for hints on how officials view inflation and rates. Expectations for a rate hike at the Fed's September meeting stood at about 33% on Sunday, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
Aug. 27 marks the start of the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium, the next major date for Fed-watchers. Chair Kevin Warsh has offered less forward guidance than his predecessor, so investors may parse the meager details more closely than usual.
This week also brings retail earnings that will test that inflation backdrop. Home Depot and Lowe's report Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, while Walmart results are due out Thursday.
Sources: MarketWatch, CNBC
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