S&P 500 Chasing Longest Winning Streak in Nearly 20 Years. Stock Futures Rising on 3 Main Indexes.

The expectation that the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates has boosted sentiment on Wall Street. Chair Jerome Powell could give investors a stronger signal about where monetary policy is headed when he addresses the Jackson Hole conference on Friday.

Home-improvement store Lowe’s is set to report its quarterly earnings ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell, which gives investors another chance to gauge how the American consumer is holding up after Walmart posted strong results last week.

U.S. futures were mixed on Tuesday, after early gains put stocks on course to extend their recent winning streak ahead of the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat, while contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were up 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were rising less than 0.1% as the benchmark gauge chases its first nine-day winning streak since November 2004, according to data from FactSet.

It’s been a dramatic turnaround for the market after indexes gained again in Monday trading. Just over two weeks ago, a softer-than-expected July nonfarm payrolls number sent stocks tumbling–but they’ve pared back all of their losses since, with investors soothed by cooling inflation and a drop in weekly jobless claims.

The expectation that the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates has also boosted sentiment on Wall Street. Chair Jerome Powell could give the market a stronger signal about where monetary policy is headed when he addresses the Jackson Hole conference on Friday.

“This ebbing of fears over a US recession goes some way to explaining why the selloff has turned around so quickly,” a Deutsche Bank team led by macro strategist Henry Allen wrote in a research note on Tuesday, adding that some of the July labor-market weakness was probably down to disruption caused by Hurricane Beryl, rather than longer-term factors that should worry the Fed.

Home-improvement store Lowe’s is set to report its quarterly earnings ahead of Tuesday’s opening bell, which gives investors another chance to gauge how the American consumer is holding up after Walmart posted strong results last week. There are no major economic data due, though, which could make this a classic quiet August day on Wall Street.

Oil prices continued to fall, with traders more worried about slowing demand than the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude was down 0.8% to about $77 a barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate benchmark fell 0.9% to under $74 a barrel.

Bond yields were little changed from the previous day. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note stood at 3.874% early Tuesday, while the 2-year yield was at 4.063%.

Oil prices were retreating, with Brent crude and WTI both down 1% at $76.85 a barrel and $72.89 a barrel respectively.

Oil is the main bearish element in an otherwise upbeat commodity complex, Peak Trading Research analysts said in a note. Crude is slumping as traders focus on global growth concerns and re-priced Middle East risks, Peak Trading said.

Chinese data have pointed to a slowdown in its key sectors—including industrial production—raising demand worries, while Israel has agreed to a U.S. proposal to bridge negotiating gaps hindering a ceasefire agreement in Gaza between itself and Hamas, lowering geopolitical risks.

Momentum-based, algorithm-driven traders are now entirely short on crude oil futures and out of selling firepower, so prices should stabilize through the end of the week, Peak Trading adds.