Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Wednesday, extending the tech-led weakness seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.2 percent.
A steep drop by shares of Target (TGT) may weigh on the markets, as the retailer is plummeting by 10.1 percent in pre-market trading.
The slump by Target comes after the company reported a decrease in second quarter sales and announced its Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke will succeed Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell.
Shares of Estée Lauder (EL) are also tumbling by 6.6 percent in pre-market trading after the beauty company reported a steep fiscal fourth quarter operating loss and provided disappointing fiscal 2026 guidance.
On the other hand, shares of Lowe's (LOW) are jumping by 2.6 percent in pre-market trading after the home improvement retailer reported better than expected second quarter earnings and boosted its full-year revenue guidance.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting later this afternoon.
The minutes of the July meeting, when the Fed decided to leave interest rates unchanged in a split decision, may provide clues about outlook for rates.
After ending Monday's choppy session little changed, stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss, although the Dow ended the day roughly flat.
The Nasdaq ended the day just off its lows of the session, tumbling 314.82 points or 1.5 percent to 21,314.95. The S&P 500 also slid 37.78 points or 0.6 percent to 6,411.37.
Meanwhile, the Dow inched up 10.45 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,922.27 after reaching a record intraday high in early trading.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 1.0 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.71 to $63.06 a barrel after tumbling $1.07 to $62.35 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $3,381.30, up $22.60 compared to the previous session's close of $3,358.70. On Tuesday, gold slid $19.30.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.33 yen compared to the 147.67 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1664 compared to yesterday's $1.1647.
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