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* Futures: Dow dips 0.02%, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.05%
By Medha Singh
Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures treaded water on
Tuesday as investors paused after a three-day run that was
driven by hopes that major economies would act to counter a
global economic downturn.
After a stormy start to the month on worsening U.S.-China
trade tensions, the indexes have rebounded sharply, with the S&P
500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC erasing last week's losses on
signs Germany and China are considering stimulus.
A report late on Monday said White House officials are
discussing the possibility of a temporary payroll tax cut in an
effort to boost the economy. A clutch of retail earnings this week will test the health
of U.S. consumer demand. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) HD.N beat quarterly
profit estimates but cut its full-year sales forecast, citing
potential impact of the trade war on consumer spending. Target (NYSE:TGT)
TGT.N , Lowe's LOW.N and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) JWN.N report later this
week.
All eyes this week will be on Wednesday's release of minutes
from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting and Chair Jerome
Powell's speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole central bankers'
conference.
Powell's remarks will be closely monitored for hints if more
policy easing is in store, especially as the U.S.-China trade
war seems far from resolved and growing fears of recession,
signaled by the inversion of the U.S. yield curve last week.
Even as Powell classified last month's interest rate cut as
a "mid-cycle" policy adjustment, traders are currently fully
pricing in another rate cut in September.
At 6:51 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 6 points, or
0.02%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 0.25 points, or 0.01%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 4.25 points, or 0.05%.
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX fell as much as about 7% from
its July record high last week, but is now down only about 3%
from that level.
Shares of HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) HPQ.N slipped 2% after Citigroup (NYSE:C)
downgraded the PC maker to "neutral" from "buy".
U.S.-listed shares of Baidu Inc BIDU.O jumped 9.9% after
the Chinese internet search giant reported better-than-expected
quarterly earnings.