A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stock futures were little changed in overnight trading Monday after a quiet beginning to a critical week with key speeches from Federal Reserve officials and retail earnings.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also trading near the flatline.
Investors are awaiting clues from Fed Chair Jerome Powell as to what will happen at the central bank’s remaining policy meetings this year. Central bank officials from around the globe will convene this week in Jackson Hole, Wyo. for the Fed’s annual economic symposium.
“We expect the Federal Reserve to use Jackson Hole as an opportunity to prepare the markets and signal towards a 25 basis point cut in September and a potentially accommodating stance through year-end,” said Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer at Treasury Partners. “Since this will be Powell’s last Jackson Hole conference as Fed Chair, he’ll likely reinforce the need for Fed independence from the Executive Branch.”
The fed funds futures market is indicating an 83% chance for a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s next policy meeting in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.
Corporate earnings from big-box retailers this week could also set the tone for sentiment and offer insight into the health of the consumer. Home Depot is set to report numbers Tuesday before the bell. Lowe’s, Walmart and Target are on deck for later this week.
The S&P 500 closed less than 1 point lower Monday, sitting inches below a record high reached last week.
Meta Platforms sees largest increase in short interest of any U.S. stock this year, S3 says
Meta Platforms, which dropped 2.3% on Monday, has seen the largest increase in short interest of any U.S. stock this year, according to S3 Partners, which specializes in tracking the activity of short sellers, who try and profit from a decline in a company’s stock price.
Meta’s notional short interest has soared 75%, or $11 billion, so far in 2025, S3 said in a note Monday. The amount of Meta’s shares sold short as a percentage of the total outstanding has jumped 38% in recent weeks, and 35% so far in 2025, the researcher said.
The second-largest increase in year-to-date notional short interest was in Palantir, which rose $2.8 billion, S3 said.
“META’s 30% YTD stock price gain accounts for roughly half of the rise in short interest notional, with the remainder driven by new shorts. Reasons for shorting META include Heavy AI and Metaverse spending, Trade/Tariff Risks, Growth Slowdown, Higher Valuation and Weakening Ad Market,” S3 said.
— Scott Schnipper
Palo Alto Networks jumps 5% after earnings beat
Shares of Palo Alto Networks jumped more than 5% in extended trading after the chipmaker’s quarterly results topped Wall Street estimates and issued better-than-expected guidance for the first quarter and full year.
The results come weeks after Palo Alto announced plans to buy Israeli identity security provider CyberArk for $25 billion, its heftiest deal ever.
Palo Alto also said its founder and Chief Technology Officer Nir Zuk is retiring.
— Yun Li
