Wall Street Awakens: Futures Slip as Tech Valuations Adjust

 

U.S. stock futures edged lower on Wednesday, recovering from Tuesday's tech-led selloff as investors shifted focus toward upcoming retail earnings and the much-anticipated Federal Reserve symposium later this week.
Tuesday's pullback hit the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hard—their worst one-day losses in over two weeks—as markets grappled with the lofty valuations that fueled the tech surge earlier this year.
Adding to the unease, the Trump administration is exploring the possibility of acquiring equity stakes in semiconductor firms as part of CHIPS Act grant agreements—a move made just weeks after brokering revenue-sharing deals with Nvidia and AMD.
In premarket trading, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel showed modest declines. With Nvidia set to announce earnings on August 27, all eyes are on that release. As Danni Hewson from AJ Bell put it, “This feels like a necessary course correction after an overly stretched rally in tech.”
The earnings calendar also features heavyweights like Lowe’s, which slipped 1% after Home Depot missed forecasts. Estee Lauder dropped 4.3%, while Target and TJX traded slightly lower. Walmart is slated to release its results on Thursday.
At 5:37 a.m. ET, futures painted a cautious picture: Dow E-minis were down 69 points (0.15%), S&P E-minis slipped 8.5 points (0.13%), and Nasdaq 100 E-minis lost 40.25 points (0.17%).
All this comes as the Fed prepares to release minutes from its July meeting—where rates were held steady—at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Jackson Hole conference follows shortly after, with Chair Powell's Friday speech expected to be the week's focal point. Markets are already forecasting a 25 basis point rate cut in September, but traders warn Powell could deliver a more hawkish message, especially against the backdrop of rising inflation risks from tariffs.
Comments from Governor Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic are also due today.
Meanwhile, the full economic impact of tariffs is yet to materialize, dampening optimism among strategists who now foresee the S&P 500 ending the year slightly below its current highs.
On the trade front, the Commerce Department enacted new 50% import tariffs on over 400 steel and aluminum “derivative” products. In brighter news, Futu Holdings shares climbed 4.3% following a strong revenue report.