US stocks were mixed on Tuesday as traders digested the first of several major retail earnings reports while looking ahead to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks later this week at the central bank’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 105 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 was flat, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2%.
Shares of Home Depot rose slightly after the home improvement retailer posted second-quarter earnings that came in weaker than expected.
The company, however, maintained its full-year outlook.
Investors are awaiting results from Lowe’s, Walmart, and Target, which are due later this week, for further insight into the state of US consumer spending.
Market participants are closely tracking these earnings reports as they seek indicators of how households are navigating a mixed inflation backdrop and an evolving US trade policy environment.
Focus shifts to Powell’s speech
Attention is also turning to Powell’s upcoming comments in Jackson Hole, where central bankers from around the world will gather for the Federal Reserve’s annual economic symposium.
Traders are looking for clarity on the path of monetary policy for the remainder of the year.
The fed funds futures market is currently pricing in an 83% chance of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Tuesday’s session followed a subdued start to the week, when the S&P 500 closed less than one point lower, leaving it just below a record high reached last week.
Trump presses for Ukraine-Russia summit
Alongside market developments, US President Donald Trump continued his efforts to bring Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end, now in its fourth year.
In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, Trump said he hopes both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will demonstrate flexibility as part of negotiations.
“I hope President Putin is going to be good, and if he’s not, it’s going to be a rough situation,” Trump said. “I hope that Zelenskiy, President Zelenskiy, will do what he has to do. He has to show some flexibility also.”
The comments follow Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska last week and meetings at the White House on Monday with Zelenskiy and European leaders.
According to Trump, he spoke again with Putin on Monday and urged him to begin planning a bilateral summit with Zelenskiy.
Such a meeting would be the first face-to-face encounter between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Trump added that if the bilateral meeting proves successful, he intends to pursue a trilateral summit involving himself, Putin, and Zelenskiy.
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