M.F. shares were lower on Tuesday morning as investors digested earnings from big retailers and awaited a government intervention from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 195 points, or 0.34%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures depressed 0.44% and 0.54%. The Dow and the S&P 500 traded at record highs for a fifth consecutive session on Monday afternoon.
Powell is scheduled to talk at 1: 30 p.m. in a town hall for any clues that the Fed will give as to when the central bank will begin to lower its asset purchases and taper interest rates.
Prior to that, investors will get a look into the health of the consumer with the 8: 30 a.m. ET release of July retail sales, expected to have fallen by 0.3%, are expected to have dropped by 0.3%.
In stocks, Dow component Walmart reported earnings and revenue which exceeded Wall Street estimates as back-to-school shopping provided a lift. The big-box retailer forecast full-year and current-quarter profits ahead of what analysts had predicted.
Fellow Dow Member Home Depot Inc. beat on both the bottom and top lines, but same-store sales grew in two years by the smallest amount as the do-it-your trend narrowed amid a reopening of the economy.
Target Corp. and Lowe's Companies Inc. are among the companies which have announced quarterly results Wednesday.
Elsewhere, financial firms -- including JPMorgan Chase Co. Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. -- were lower as buying across the Treasury complex pushed the 10-year yield down four basis points to 1.23% while flattening the yield curve
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 55 cents to $66.74 a barrel and gold climbed $6.90 to $1,796. 70 an ounce.
European bourses were mixed with Germany's DAX 30 and France's CAC 40 sinking 0.21% and 0.52% respectively, while Britain's FTSE 100 ticked up 0.11%.