US stock futures were unchanged in overnight trading on Tuesday before more retail profits were made.
Dow futures fell 25 points. S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.05%.
On Tuesday, key averages ended the day in the red after seeing gains at the start of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 267 points, hurt by a 3% decline in Chevron stock.
The S&P 500 fell 0.9%.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.56% as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and the Google parenting alphabet all closed lower. The technology-intensive index even rose by 0.8% on Tuesday. Growth stocks have come under pressure recently on fears of inflation that could unravel the simple policies of the Federal Reserve.
“The late-day weakness in this sector is growing ever more common, fueling fears that a longer and more pronounced than expected period of consolidation is ahead,” Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, told CNBC.
Judging by sentiment, housing starts fell 9.5% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.569 million units, the Commerce Department said. Economists expected housing construction to drop to 1.7 million units last month.
Retailers Home Depot, Macy’s and Walmart reported better than expected profits on Tuesday.
The winning season continues on Wednesday with other major retailers such as Target, Lowe’s, TJX and L Brands. Analog Advices, JD.com and Cisco Systems also report quarterly results.
The Federal Open Market Committee released the minutes of its April meeting on Wednesday.
“Investors will check the release of the latest Fed minutes for subtle hints of when some rejuvenation measures are imminent,” added Paulsen.
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