US pre-open: Futures in the red ahead of July's retail sales data
Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Tuesday as market participants awaited July's key retail sales report scheduled for later in the day.
As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.56%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were 0.44% and 0.33% lower, respectively.
The Dow closed 110.02 points higher on Monday, reversing early losses to extend the blue-chip index's record-setting rally for another session.
Tuesday's primary focus will be the closely watched retail sales data from the Census Bureau at 1330 BST, with analysts on the Street expecting the report to reveal a 0.3% decline in July amid the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant following June's surprise 0.6% jump.
AvaTrade's Naeem Aslam said: "Futures in the United States and Europe are trading lower today after the S&P 500 climbed to new highs in yesterday’s session. The equity indices surged as corporate earnings have shown great strength in the last quarter and have massively outperformed expectations. Similarly, economic reports are depicting a positive outlook for the coming months, with the job market in better shape and inflation under control, as was communicated by the Fed."
In the corporate space, retailer Home Depot posted quarterly profit and revenue beats on Tuesday but also stated that fewer customers had visited its brick and mortar locations during the period than they had a year earlier amid a decline in lockdown-fuelled DIY activity, while Walmart reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street's expectations after gaining ground in its grocery business and making a strong start in back-to-school sales.
On the macro front, July retail sales data will be published at 1330 BST, while last month's industrial production figures will follow at 1415 BST and June business inventories data numbers and the NAHB's August housing market index will both be published at 1500 BST.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell will also deliver a speech at 1830 BST, while Minneapolis president Neel Kashkari was expected to speak at 2045 BST.