US OPEN: US stock market weakens ahead of Fed Minutes

• U.S. stock market starts today's trading lower 

• Expectations for Fed Minutes

•  Target (TGT.US) with sharp drop in profits 

• 10-year yields jump 2.6% up 

Today's session started with declines in most indices. Market sentiment is mainly affected today by the weak results of Target (TGT.US). Nevertheless, US retail sales data indicated no change in July (expected: 0.1% m/m; previous: 1.0% m/m). Ex-autos sales: 0.4% m/m (expected: -0.1% m/m; previous: 1.0% m/m). The data are not bad. Obviously, no increase in total sales, but base sales are growing quite strongly with expectations of a slight decline. The dollar and yields gained after the reading. Investors' attention now turns to today's Fed Minutes, which will point to the details of the decisions from the last FOMC meeting and give some clues as to possible subsequent decisions by the US central bank.

The money market is currently pointing to an almost equal chance of a 50-point hike and a 75-point hike at the September FOMC meeting. Source: Bloomberg

Bloomberg Wall Street index quotes. Source: Bloomberg

Compiled charts of the US100 and VIX index on the D1 interval. The benchmark of technology companies starts today's session with declines. The VIX fear index is gaining nearly 0.6% today. Source: xStation 5

News:

• Shares of Target (TGT.US) are losing more than 3% early in today's session on the back of worse-than-expected financial results. The company's EPS came in at $0.39 against a market consensus of $0.72. The company recently sounded alarms about the broad market's price tag will translate into the consumer market, which could affect results. Management cited that the company maintains full-year forecasts and is better positioned for a rebound in the economy. 

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Target (TGT.US) results. Source: Bloomberg 

• Increased activity on shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY.US) continues unabated. The falling number of days to cover short positions with a surge in buying among retail investors indicates the potential for upward movement. The company appears poised to continue a 'short squeeze' similar to that experienced by Gamestop shares in January 2021.

• Data from The Mortgage Bankers Association indicated a decline in mortgage applications, which reached their lowest level since 2000. The data indicated a drop to -2.3%, compared to the last reading of 0.2%. 

Information from companies in the S&P500 (US500) index. Source: Bloomberg