S&P 500 futures slipped early Wednesday as investors weighed a mixed batch of retail earnings and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes release. Futures tied to the benchmark shed 0.1%, along with Nasdaq-100 futures. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 51 points, or 0.1%. Target shares dropped more than 9% after the retailer reported another decline in sales. The company also announced CEO Brian Cornell would leave his post in February. Lowe’s, meanwhile, popped about 3% after the home improvement retailer’s earnings beat expectations. Those figures come after a post-earnings jump in Home Depot helped the Dow eke out a small gain and set an intraday record, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell due to a decline in tech names. Investors are also awaiting July meeting minutes from the Fed due at 2 p.m. ET. At the time, policymakers once more held steady on interest rates, but Fed Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented, marking the first time two voting Fed officials have done so since 1993. That comes ahead of remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday, which investors will monitor for insights into the path of interest rates. Fed funds futures are pricing in a nearly 85% likelihood of the central bank cutting interest rates at its next policy gathering in September, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. “We expect this year’s Jackson Hole meeting to offer an opportunity for Powell to again nod towards monetary easing,” said Andrzej Skiba, head of the BlueBay U.S. Fixed Income team at RBC Global Asset Management. “While there are some hot spots in this month’s inflation reading, it’s probably not enough to deter the doves on the committee.” U.S. Treasury yields held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes from July and for more insights about the path of monetary policy. The 10-year treasury yield dipped by less than a basis point to 4.3%, and the 2-year yield was also little changed at 3.752%. Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, tracking Wall Street declines overnight, as investors parsed Japan’s trade data and China’s loan prime rate decision. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.51% to close at 42,888.55, while the Topix lost 0.57% to 3,098.91. Shares of SoftBank Group plunged as much as 9.17% Wednesday, as technology stocks in Asia declined, tracking losses in U.S. peers overnight. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.68% to close at 3,130.09, and the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.31% to 777.61. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 pared losses earlier in the trading session to close 0.25% higher at 8,918. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also reversed course to rise 0.21% in its last hour of trading, while the mainland’s CSI 300 rose 1.14% to close at 4,271.4, after China left its key lending rates steady in August for a third straight month, matching market forecasts. Taiwan’s Taiex fell 2.99% to close at 23,625.44. Oil prices rose on Wednesday as supply concerns are resurfacing while peace talks ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are likely to take longer, leaving in place sanctions on Russian crude and raising the chance of further restrictions on its buyers. Brent crude futures were at $65.93 a barrel by 0149 GMT, up 14 cents, or 0.21%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for September delivery, set to expire on Wednesday, rose 37 cents to $62.72 a barrel, up 0.59%. The more-active October contract was at $61.92 a barrel, up 15 cents. Prices settled down more than 1% on Tuesday on optimism a deal to end the war seemed closer, which would mean the easing sanctions on Russia and an increase in global supply. Gold prices hit their lower level in nearly three weeks on Wednesday as the dollar firmed, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium later this week for clues on the path for monetary policy. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $3,313.51 per ounce, as of 0240 GMT, after reaching its lowest level since August 1. U.S. gold futures for December delivery fell 0.1% to $3,355.50. A stronger dollar and improving risk appetite from recent geopolitical developments are weighing on gold prices, with markets looking out for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said.