Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq waver ahead of retail earnings

US stocks fluctuated on Monday as tech stocks drifted modestly higher, while investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s next policy move and awaited a slate of retail earnings this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined 0.3% at the open, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.1% after the benchmark index posted its third straight weekly gain. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) edged up fractionally following a relatively calm week on Wall Street.

Investor attention turns toward retail earnings and oil prices this week, with fewer market-moving economic data releases on the calendar. Big-box stores, including Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), and Home Depot (HD), report quarterly results this week, providing insights into consumer health during the important back-to-school shopping season.

Traders, meanwhile, pulled back the odds of a September rate hike at the Fed’s Jackson Hole meeting to less than one-third, as inflation and jobs data have created a mixed economic picture.

Oil prices remain a key factor for markets and the Fed as the US takes an economic approach to the war in the Middle East. Brent crude (BZ=F) futures, the international benchmark, edged up to $88 per barrel on Monday. At the same time, financial markets have tightened, with the 10-year (^TNX) and 30-year (^TYX) Treasury yields extending their gains amid concerns about growing national debt.

The Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes, released on Wednesday, could offer more clues into the Fed officials’ thinking.