[Pre-market U.S. Stocks] Pre-market keywords of the day (2025.08.20)

Futures are weak, retail earnings and Fed signals drive the market

Before the U.S. stock market session on Wednesday night in Taiwan time, the three major index futures fell slightly, as investors simultaneously digested retail earnings reports and the minutes of the Federal Reserve Board meeting released later. Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 0.2%, S & P 500 futures fell slightly 0.1%, and Dow Jones futures fell slightly. Technology stocks were under pressure in the previous trading day. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 1.46%, the S & P 500 weakened, and Dow Jones hit a record high in early trading and pulled back a small gain to close. The yield rate on the 10-year U.S. bond bond did not change much, oil and gold futures rose simultaneously, and Bitcoin hovered below US$114,000. In terms of pre-market individual stocks, Target fell sharply, Lloyd's rose, and furniture vendor Le Zhibao fell sharply.

Retail focus, Target personnel changes and sales decline depressed sentiment

Target(TGT) plunged about 10% in pre-market trading after the company announced a leadership change amid weak sales. Target's net sales for the last quarter fell 0.9% year-on-year to $25.21 billion, slightly better than the Visible Alpha Consensus, and adjusted net income per share of $2.05 was in line with expectations. The company has also appointed Michael Fiddelke, the chief operating officer for 20 years, as the new chief executive officer, effective February 1, 2026, when current chief executive officer Brian Cornell will be transferred to executive chairman. Personnel turnover at a time when same-store and passenger flow are under pressure has strengthened the market's interpretation of the slowdown in demand for large retail channels.

Home renovations are divided, Lloyd's profits are better than expectations and annual revenue outlook is revised upward

Lowe's (LOW) rose more than 3% in pre-market trading, reporting adjusted net income per share of $4.33 for the previous quarter, which exceeded market expectations of $4.24 in the Visible Alpha survey; revenue of $23.96 billion and a 1.1% year-on-year increase in same-store sales were broadly in line with expectations. Lloyd's slightly raised its full-year revenue outlook and announced the acquisition of Foundation Building Materials, a supplier of gypsum board and building materials, for US$8.8 billion to strengthen its professional customer supply capabilities. The day before, competitor Home Depot(HD) mentioned that the momentum of demand for home repairs had improved, indicating that the housing maintenance chain was divided in which the fundamentals of individual companies were better than the industry average.

Weak demand for furniture, Lezhibao's financial forecast eclipsed and triggered a sharp fall

La-Z-Boy(LZB) fell nearly 25% in pre-market trading. The company announced adjusted net income per share of US$0.47 for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, which was lower than Visible Alpha's estimate of US$0.53. It also expects revenue for the quarter to be between US$510 million and US$530 million, with the median range below the market consensus. Amid the cooling housing market and changes in commodity costs, demand for furniture has recovered slowly, exacerbating investors 'doubts about the prospects of household durable goods spending.

Policy and central bank, meeting minutes are about to talk with Bauer, attracting attention

The Federal Reserve will release minutes of its July meeting at 2 a.m. Taiwan time on Thursday, which will present the latest discussions among policymakers on the economy and inflation, and reveal the thinking of the two members who supported interest rate cuts at the meeting. The market is also paying attention to Federal Reserve Chairman Bauer's talks at the Jackson Hole Annual Meeting later this week to find policy paths and risk assessments of falling inflation. Recent limited changes in interest rate pricing suggest investors are waiting for a clearer official signal.

Progress in trade policies, expansion of steel and aluminum tariffs affects costs and industrial chains

The White House has expanded the scope of application of steel and aluminum tariffs, imposing 50% import tariffs on more than 400 products, covering fire extinguishers, machinery and building materials. The linkage effect of policies on construction, capital goods and insurance-related costs has become the focus of market observation, and may also affect some terminal consumption and corporate capital expenditures through price transmission. As policy uncertainty heats up, corporate procurement rhythm and inventory management will become the key to assessing subsequent profitability resilience.

Global stock markets signal that European stocks are resilient and Asian technology is under pressure

European stock markets strengthened on the night before, with the Stoxx Europe 600 closing up 0.69%, and the UK FTSE 100 hitting a record closing high, but defense stocks fell. Asian stock markets generally fell back on Wednesday, with regional technology stocks following the overnight decline in U.S. stocks. Japan's exports fell by 2.6% year-on-year in July, the largest decline since February 2021. Weakening shipments to the two major markets of the United States and China highlighted the weakness of external demand and brought pressure signals to cyclical assets.

In raw materials and foreign exchange markets, oil and gold are rising, and the US dollar is stable, increasing demand for hedging and inflation

International oil prices rose before the market, reflecting market assessments of the balance between inventories and supply and demand; gold prices continued to rise, and UBS raised its 2025 and 2026 gold prices forecast, indicating that the allocation demand for gold assets is still there due to the intertwining of real interest rates and geopolitical risks. The US dollar index did not change much, and the market waited for the Fed minutes to talk to Bauer before adjusting its position. Changes in the combination of commodities and exchange rates constitute pre-market fluctuations in return differences in energy, shipping, aviation and precious metals-related stocks.

Technology and one-day fluctuations, Palantir led the decline, dragging the index back

Technology stocks led the decline in the previous trading day, with the US Nasdaq Composite Index falling 1.46%, and Palantir(PLTR) falling more than 9% as a source of pressure. Growth stocks are highly sensitive to interest rates and valuations. Changes in short-term news and funds tend to amplify fluctuations. The trend of pre-market futures reflects investors 'balanced orientation towards today's two major themes of technology and consumption.

Semiconductor policy and supply chain, Huida evaluates Intel's possible transfer of equity in Chinese products

Nvidia(NVDA) said it has evaluated multiple products, and the market has rumors that it is developing new AI chips based on the Blackwell architecture for China; under the U.S. and China technology specifications, product performance and compliance paths have attracted much attention. On the other hand, Intel(INTC) reportedly may exchange government shares in exchange for Big American Act funds. Similar arrangements may be extended to beneficiaries such as Micron(MU) and Samsung Electronics(Samsung Electronics, 005930.KS). The interaction between industrial policies and equity structure has created new variables in the market evaluation of capital expenditure rhythm, gross profit margin and dilution of shareholders 'equity.

Bitcoin and risk sentiment, the rise of crypto assets and the balance and divergence of U.S. debt

Bitcoin is quoted at close to $114,000, which contrasts with the flat U.S. bond yield, indicating that risk appetite is still evident in assets other than equity bonds. In contrast to the slight weakening of stock market futures, the divergence between assets reflects the rebalancing of the market's positions before minutes and large-scale events, rather than a comprehensive risk aversion triggered by a single risk event.

Pre-market summary, waiting for the minutes to be released, the financial report division will expand the market will focus on stock selection

Based on pre-market news, the macro perspective is based on the Federal Reserve Committee minutes and trade policies. International clues show that cooling external demand and the resilience of European stocks coexist; the performance of retail and home-related companies at the industrial level is divided, and technology stocks are cautious after the night before closing. Futures indicators forecast a weak opening tone but controlled fluctuations. Investors focused on the policy text from tonight to early morning tomorrow and talked to Bauer later this week. The key to the short-term market is how to reprice new information on demand and interest rate paths. The relative attractiveness of various stocks.