Wall Street ends on muted note ahead of Jackson Hole summit, retailers' earnings
Wall Street's main indexes closed roughly flat on Monday, after struggling for direction while investors awaited a raft of corporate earnings reports from major retailers for more signs about the state of the economy and the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole.
Walmart, Home Depot and Target, among others, are set to report results this week and are likely to indicate how trade uncertainty and inflation expectations have affected U.S. consumers.
Investors are also closely watching the Fed's Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference between August 21 and 23, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak, could offer more clarity on the economic outlook and the central bank's policy framework.
Talks at the White House on Monday between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy failed to move the market significantly.
Data on Friday showed that while retail sales were increasing broadly as anticipated, consumer sentiment overall had taken a hit from mounting inflation fears. On Monday, the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index fell to the lowest reading since December 2022.
On the geopolitical front, Trump and Zelenskiy met to discuss the future of the war in Ukraine, days after Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin which yielded no concrete outcome. Trump said he would call Putin and that it was possible the three leaders could hold a meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34.30 points, or 0.08%, to 44,911.82, the S&P 500 lost 0.65 point, or 0.01%, to 6,449.15 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.80 points, or 0.03%, to 21,629.77.
Investors continue to price in a 25-basis-point cut from the Federal Reserve next month, although they have lowered their expectations for another rate cut this year, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Source : Reuters
