U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Monday, taking a breather after a positive week as investors awaited a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, as well as the upcoming Jackson Hole Symposium.<\/p>\n\n
At 05:35 (09:35 GMT), Dow Jones futures were down 33 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures fell 9 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 34 points, or 0.1%.<\/p>\n\n
Wall Street\u2019s main indexes posted their second straight positive week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average joining the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite in hitting fresh record highs at some point last week.<\/p>\n\n
Zelensky heads to Washington
He is likely to face pressure to accept an agreement, with reports suggesting that a possible deal could involve Ukraine giving up large swathes of its eastern region, including Donetsk and Luhansk, to Russia, while the Kremlin would withdraw from the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.<\/p>\n\n
Zelensky, who will be joined by leaders from several European countries, has said he supports a \u201cswift and reliable\u201d end to the conflict of more than three years, but stressed that Russia must be willing to end the war \u201cit started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Trump said on Sunday that Zelensky could end the war with Russia \u201calmost immediately\u201d by giving in to Moscow\u2019s demands.<\/p>\n\n
Jackson Hole expected for more rate clues
Powell\u2019s remarks come amid growing conviction that the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in September, especially after weak July payrolls and consumer inflation readings. Investors are pricing in an 83% chance of a 25-basis-point cut in September, according to CME FedWatch. <\/p>\n\n
Solid producer inflation data released last week have virtually ruled out the likelihood of a larger cut.<\/p>\n\n
Walmart, Target to wrap up second-quarter earnings
{{7997|Walmart (NYSE:WMT)}} and {{8180|Target (NYSE:TGT)}} will be the most closely watched, with other big retailers such as {{8064|Home Depot (NYSE:HD)}}, Lowe\u2019s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW), and {{8227|TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX)}} also on the agenda.<\/p>\n\n
The results will provide further insight into the U.S. consumer, amid concerns that President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs could weigh on household spending.<\/p>\n\n
Roughly 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported June-quarter earnings so far, with 81% of those reporting posting stronger-than-expected results, according to FactSet (NYSE:FDS) data.<\/p>\n\n
Other major companies reporting this week include Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY), {{941155|Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)}}, {{6378|Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)}}, {{41268|Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW)}}, and {{7869|Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI)}}.<\/p>\n\n
Oil ticks higher
At 05:35, Brent futures gained 0.6% to $66.24 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 0.8% to $62.46 a barrel. <\/p>\n\n
Both contracts fell nearly 1.5% on Friday and ended the week sharply lower before the U.S.\u2013Russia meeting concluded. <\/p>\n\n
Trump decided not to apply further pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine by imposing measures to disrupt its oil exports after his meeting with Putin on Friday.<\/p>\n\n
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