Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, July 12, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stock futures are near flat Tuesday night as investors awaited on the latest crop of corporate earnings reports from well-known names including Nvidia.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 15 points. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were also both little changed.
Retail stocks had been weak in Tuesday’s session, but Urban Outfitters shares were 3% higher in extended trading on the back of a better-than-expected quarterly report. But La-Z-Boy slumped more than 1% as management said furniture sales will “remain challenged.”
Those results precede a bevy of household names set to report Wednesday. Retail stocks Peloton, Foot Locker, Kohl’s and Abercrombie & Fitch are due before the bell, followed by artificial intelligence stock Nvidia and fellow technology company Snowflake after the market closes.
The moves follow a mixed session on Wall Street. The S&P 500 and Dow slid around 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively.
But the Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.06% advance. The tech-heavy index was able to post a second day of gains despite selling pressure as investors readied for earnings from Nvidia, which was the biggest laggard on the index in Tuesday’s session.
Dick’s Sporting Goods fell 24% in its worst daily performance ever after coming up short of Wall Street expectations and pulling back its full-year earnings guidance. Macy’s fell 14% after reiterating its conservative outlook, while Lowe’s climbed more than 3% after exceeding the consensus estimate of analysts for earnings and reaffirming full-year expectations.
“Mixed retailer news is certainly dampening investor sentiment after the strong retail sales report,” said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for wealth management at U.S. Bank, referencing data released last week signaling consumer resiliency.
These reports come as the market nears the end of what’s been a better-than-anticipated reporting season. Of the more than 95% of S&P 500 companies that have delivered results, about four out of five have exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Beyond the earnings slated for Wednesday, investors will also be watching for economic data on new home sales and purchasing. They’ll also be readying for the start of a two-day Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, beginning Thursday. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver remarks Friday.