Markets today: Target and Lowe's report ahead of the Fed minutes

The Federal Reserve takes the session. The minutes of its most recent policy meeting are due at 2:00 p.m. ET, the day’s only high-importance release. Before that, two large retailers report: Target and Lowe’s both post quarterly results ahead of the open. The rest of the economic calendar is light, with weekly energy inventories the main scheduled data. Walmart and Deere follow with their own results on Thursday. Stocks come in off a lower Tuesday led by technology, and Treasury yields are back in view.

On the calendar today

The Fed minutes at 2:00 p.m. ET are the calendar’s marquee item and its only high-importance entry. The rest is quieter. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey opened the morning at 7:00 a.m. ET, with the 30-year fixed rate holding at 6.77% from the prior reading. The two remaining medium-importance prints land together in the late morning. At 10:30 a.m. ET the Energy Information Administration publishes its weekly petroleum inventories. Crude oil stocks are forecast to fall 0.6 million barrels after a 17.4 million-barrel build the week before, and gasoline stocks are seen down 1.2 million following a 1.0 million-barrel draw. Beyond those, the schedule holds nothing of the first rank until the minutes cross.

Reporting today

Two names report early. Target and Lowe’s both release quarterly results before the market opens.

Backdrop

Stocks fell on Tuesday, and the weakness sat in technology. The S&P 500 closed at 7,691.76, down 0.69%. The Dow ended at 53,343.40, off 0.22%. The Nasdaq Composite finished at 26,289.71, down 1.33%, the steepest drop of the three. The gap between the Dow and the Nasdaq shows where the selling landed. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.72%, up on the day, while the Cboe Volatility Index eased to 15.78.

The week ahead

Thursday. Walmart and Deere report.

What to watch

The minutes are the day’s focus. Released at 2:00 p.m. ET, they set out the discussion behind the Fed’s most recent rate decision, and traders will read them for detail the policy statement left out. Rate-sensitive corners of the market tend to move on that afternoon release, and the timing puts the reaction squarely into the final stretch of the session.

The retail results give an earlier marker. Target’s and Lowe’s reports, both out before the open, offer a read on how households are spending on general merchandise and on the home. The numbers land while the broader tape is already weighing the same question about consumer demand, and the reaction in the two stocks will be an early tell before the open.

Yields stay in the frame. The 10-year note ended Tuesday at 4.72% after climbing on the session, and where it settles will shape trading as the minutes approach.

This is a general-market summary for information only — not investment advice, and not a recommendation regarding any security.