Stock Futures Mixed as Retail Earnings Pick Up

The market is still struggling for direction before the bell this morning, with futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) up 75 points, S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures sitting flat, and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures modestly in the red.

Investors are awaiting insight from the Federal Reserve later this week, with plenty more corporate earnings to unpack in the meantime, especially from the retail sector. On the data front, U.S. housing starts rose 5.2% in July to an annual rate of 1.4 million -- a 12.9% year-over-year increase -- while building permits fell 2.8%.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• Trendline to watch for potential cracks in the S&P 500 rally, per Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone. 
• Utility stock is flashing a historically bullish signal. 
• Plus, DUOL's two bull notes; SHCO's potential buyout; and NVO's FDA approval. 

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE) saw over 2.2 million call contracts and more than 1.1 million put contracts traded on Monday. The single-session equity put/call ratio came in at 0.50, while the 21-day moving average stayed at 0.59.
2. Cybersecurity stock Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) is up 6% premarket, after the company's strong fiscal fourth-quarter results and full-year forecast. Seven brokerages have hiked their price targets in response, the highest coming from Deutsche Bank to $235 from $217. Should these gains hold, PANW will break into positive territory for 2025. 
3. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) stock is up 1.3% before the bell, after the company kicked off this week's retail earnings with a second-quarter earnings miss, though full-year guidance was reiterated. Coming into today, Home Depot stock sports a slim 1.5% year-to-date gain. 
4. The shares of Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY) are up 3.1% in electronic trading, after the company announced the launch of its digital marketplace, which will expand its offerings. Since the start of the year, BBY is down 16.3%.  
5. This week will bring plenty of earnings and economic data, as well as the Fed's latest meeting minutes. 

European Stocks Rise on Trade Optimism

Asian markets all finished lower, with Japan’s Nikkei slipping 0.4% after its recent record close, pressured in part by SoftBank’s $2 billion investment in chipmaker Intel (INTC). China’s Shanghai Composite settled just below breakeven, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2%. South Korea’s Kospi led regional declines, falling 0.8% as President Lee Jae Myung met with leaders from Samsung and Hyundai Motor ahead of his upcoming summit with President Donald Trump.

In Europe, stocks are trending higher to start off the day. London’s FTSE 100 was last seen up 0.3%, bolstered by confidence in peace talks following President Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders. France’s CAC 40 is 0.9% higher, while Germany’s DAX is looking to build on a 0.2% gain.