Disappointing Retail Sales Data May Weigh On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions.

The futures edged lower following the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing retail sales in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in the month of December.

The report said retail sales came in virtually unchanged in December after climbing by 0.6 percent in November. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent.

Excluding a slight dip in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales were still virtually unchanged in December after increasing by 0.4 percent in November. Ex-auto sales were expected to grow by 0.3 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed import prices in the U.S. crept up in line with estimates in the month of December.

Stocks moved mostly higher over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending the strong upward move seen during last Friday’s session. While the Dow crept up to a new record closing high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a more notable move to the upside.

The major averages all finished the day in positive territory. The Dow crept up 20.20 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 50,135.87, the Nasdaq jumped 207.46 points or 0.9 percent to 23,238.67 and the S&P 500 climbed 32.52 points or 0.5 percent to 6,964.82.

The strength on Wall Street partly reflected an extended rebound by tech stocks, which contributed to the rally seen last Friday.

Software giant Oracle (ORCL) helped lead the sector higher, spiking by 9.6 percent after D.A. Davidson upgraded its rating on the company’s stock to Buy from Neutral.

However, traders seemed reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of several key U.S. economic reports in the coming days.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report, which was delayed due to the brief government shutdown last week, is likely to be in the spotlight.

The report is expected to show employment climbed by 70,000 jobs in January after rising by 50,000 jobs in December, while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.4 percent.

Reports on retail sales and consumer price inflation are also likely to attract attention, as the data could impact the outlook for interest rates.

“With Jerome Powell nearing the end of his term and Kevin Warsh widely expected to take over as Fed Chair, markets are increasingly sensitive to how data influences rate expectations,” said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com. “While leadership changes may affect tone and communication, the data remains the ultimate driver.”

She added, “As a result, the employment and inflation releases this week will be critical in determining whether markets lean back into expectations of easing — a scenario that could support equities and precious metals — or whether sticky inflation forces continued restraint.”

Gold stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 6.1 percent.

Significant strength was also visible among networking and software stocks, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index surging by 4 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

Brokerage and semiconductor stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while healthcare and airline stocks moved to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $0.21 to $64.57 a barrel after jumping $0.81 to $64.36 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after surging $99.60 to $5,079.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $4.80 to $5,074.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.84 yen compared to the 155.86 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1901compared to yesterday’s $1.1913.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Tuesday, with post-election optimism in Japan and a strong rebound in the technology sector helping underpin regional sentiment.

The U.S. dollar index eased following reports of Chinese regulators limiting U.S. Treasury bond holdings. Gold edged lower after rising over the two previous days.

Oil prices were subdued after rising over 1 percent in the previous session following a U.S. advisory warning of potential supply disruptions in key shipping routes.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged up by 0.1 percent to 4,128.37 due to stimulus expectations and investor euphoria related to artificial intelligence. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.6 percent to 27,183.15, led by pharma and tech stocks.

Japanese markets set a fresh record high on continued optimism surrounding Prime Minister Takaichi’s landslide election victory.

The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 2.3 percent to 57,650.54, extending gains for a third consecutive session to reach a new record high even as the yen extended its recovery alongside rising equities.

The broader Topix Index settled 1.9 percent higher at 3,855.28 amid expectations the government will push through higher spending and tax cuts.

Technology investor SoftBank Group soared 10.7 percent ahead of its earnings results due on Thursday. Cable maker Furukawa Electric jumped nearly 23 percent on robust earnings.

Seoul stocks ended little changed, with the Kospi finishing marginally higher at 5,301.69 ahead of the planned release of U.S. retail sales, jobs and inflation data this week that may offer clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy direction.

Australian markets ended little changed following Monday’s relief rally. While beaten-down software and data center names attracted fresh demand, healthcare stocks underperformed ahead of a busy week for earnings.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rose half a percent to 13,513.68.

Europe

European stocks are subdued on Tuesday as investors digest mixed earnings updates and look ahead to the release of key U.S. economic data this week for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory.

While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent.

Dutch healthcare company Philips has soared after reporting strong fourth quarter earnings and setting ambitious targets for 2026.

Gucci-owner Kering has also surged after it reported an acceleration in sales growth for the final quarter of 2025.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca has also risen. The company projected continued revenue and earnings growth in 2026, boosted by sales of its cancer drugs.

Meanwhile, BP Plc shares have slumped. The British oil and gas major halted share buybacks after reporting wider replacement cost or RC loss in its fourth quarter.

TUI, Europe’s biggest travel operator, has also tumbled despite the company delivering strong quarterly results and confirming its full-year targets.

U.S. Economic News

The Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing retail sales in the U.S. were unexpectedly flat in the month of December.

The report said retail sales came in virtually unchanged in December after climbing by 0.6 percent in November. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.4 percent.

Excluding a slight dip in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales were still virtually unchanged in December after increasing by 0.4 percent in November. Ex-auto sales were expected to grow by 0.3 percent.

Import prices in the U.S. crept up in line with estimates in the month of December, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday.

The Labor Department said import prices inched up by 0.1 percent in December, in line with expectations.

While the report also said export prices rose by 0.3 percent in December, economists had expected export prices to tick up by 0.1 percent.

Import prices were unchanged compared to the same month a year ago, while export prices jumped by 3.1 percent year-over-year.

The Labor Department said it decided to forgo a detailed news release for the data as a result of the prolonged government shutdown last year.

At 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on business inventories in the month of November, Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Beth Hammack is due to speak on “Banking and the Economic Outlook” before the 2026 Ohio Bankers League Economic Summit at 12 pm ET.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $58 billion worth of three-year notes.

Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan is also due to speak and participate in a moderated question-and-answer session before the 2026 Asset Management Derivatives Forum at 1 pm ET.