Stock futures rise as Wall Street awaits retail sales data, Fed policy meeting: Live updates

Stock futures rose Tuesday as Wall Street readied for key retail sales data and the start of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 added 0.3%, while Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.5%. Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 88 points, or 0.2%.

Microsoft rose 2% after the tech giant hiked its quarterly dividend by 10.7% to 83 cents per share. The company also approved a $60 billion buyback program.

Intel shares popped about 7% in premarket trading after the company said it plans to make its foundry business a subsidiary. The Biden administration also awarded the company up to $3 billion in funding through the Chips Act.

Investors on Tuesday will parse retail sales data for August for one final glimpse into the health of the U.S. consumer ahead of the Fed rate decision. Economists polled by Dow Jones are bracing for a 0.2% decline. Excluding autos, they see a 0.2% gain. The results could affect the rate cut outcome.

Wall Street is on standby for the Fed’s long-anticipated rate cut, a move that could help boost earnings growth for companies following a backdrop of steep borrowing costs and high inflation. The Fed first embarked on its aggressive hiking campaign in March 2022.

While Wall Street expects a cut Wednesday, the market is divided on the size of the potential reduction. Traders are currently pricing in a 67% chance that the central bank eases rates by 50 basis points, according to CME Group’s Fed Watch tool. That’s up from a roughly 47% chance Friday.

“Market expectations are split between a 25 basis point and a 50 basis point rate cut, as the decision is complicated by conflicting signals of solid economic activity but a weakening labor market,” said Principal Asset Management’s Seema Shah. “Rarely have market expectations been so torn, so close to a [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting.”

While a 50 basis point cut isn’t out of the question, the chief global strategist thinks that the Fed should take a more cautious approach to cutting and ease rates by 25 basis points. She is forecasting additional 25 basis point cuts in November and December.

Wall Street is coming off a mixed trading session. The 30-stock Dow rose more than 228 points, or 0.55%, to close at a record high, while the S&P 500 added 0.13%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.52% as Apple and prominent chip stocks declined.