US pre-open: Futures lower ahead of Fed minutes
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 20 Aug 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Wednesday, as market participants digested quarterly earnings from some of America's major retailers ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting.
As of 1215 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.13%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.12% and 0.19% softer, respectively.
The Dow closed just 10.45 points higher on Tuesday, boosted by a post-earnings jump in Home Depot shares.
Wednesday's primary focus will likely be minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting at 1900 BST, with investors set to keep an eye out for any hints as to just what the central bank may be thinking ahead of its September meeting.
The minutes also come ahead of remarks from chair Jerome Powell on Friday, with traders also monitoring for insights into future interest rate policy. Fed funds futures were currently pricing in a nearly 85% chance that the central bank will lower interest rates at its next meeting.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell 1.4% in the week ended 15 August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to short-term rate changes, fell by 3.1% week-on-week, while applications to purchase a home were broadly unchanged.
In the corporate space, Lowe's delivered solid second-quarter results on Wednesday, with earnings and revenue both topping analyst expectations despite a challenging start to the quarter, while Target posted mixed Q2 figures, with earnings per share of $2.05 narrowly beating expectations, even as revenues dropped 0.9% year-on-year to $25.2bn.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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