Wall Street inched toward small gains before the opening bell today ahead of data this week that may provide more insight into the health of U.S. retailers, the Associated Press reports. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up a little more than 0.1%.
On Tuesday, the government will release its retail sales report for July, and Home Depot, Target, TJX Cos., and Walmart will post their most recent quarterly results this week.
Retail spending has been a bit bumpy through the first half of the year after surging nearly 3% in January. Analysts forecast that spending rose 0.4% from June to July after a modest 0.2% increase in June.
Wall Street lost ground Friday after government data showed producer price inflation accelerated in July. Earlier data showed consumer prices also rose faster in July. That dimmed hopes somewhat that the Fed will ease its string of rate hikes to cool the economy, and inflation.
In premarket equities trading, United States Steel Corp. shot up 27% after the Pittsburgh company said Sunday that it rejected a $7.3 billion buyout proposal from rival Cleveland-Cliffs.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 44 cents to $82.75 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 37 cents on Friday to $83.19. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, fell 39 cents to $86.42 per barrel in London. It advanced 41 cents on Friday to $86.81 a barrel.
The dollar rose to 145.12 yen from Friday’s 144.97 yen.
