Stock futures are near flat Wednesday as traders awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting. Wall Street was coming off a losing session that marked the latest leg down in an August slump. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down 51 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures both declined 0.13% and 0.16%, respectively. The Fed is slated post the minutes from its July meeting at 2 p.m. ET. Back then, the central bank raised rates to their highest levels in more than 22 years. Investors will also watch for economic data on housing, industrial production and capacity utilization. Meanwhile, the backend of the corporate earnings season rolled on. Tax preparer H&R Block and Mediterranean food chain Cava advanced 6.1% and 8.6%, respectively, on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly reports. Target, meanwhile, popped more than 5% even after the retailer cut its full-year outlook. The moves follow a losing session on Wall Street, with all three of the major indexes finishing more than 1% lower on Tuesday. With the losses, the Dow snapped a three-day winning streak. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 ended the session below its 50-day moving average, which could signal a downturn ahead. Financial stocks including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America slid after Fitch warned it may be forced to downgrade the credit ratings of dozens of banks. It comes as the latest challenges to the sector, following Moody’s decision last week to downgrade the ratings of 10 banks while putting other institutions on a watchlist. Additionally, economic news out of China weighed on investor sentiment. Retail sales and industrial production both grew less than economists expected, according to data released Tuesday. The country’s central bank also issued an interest rate cut. Tuesday brought “a smattering of just not necessarily positive developments,” said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. “It’s just the mosaic overall coming together to paint a pretty negative picture.” With just over half of August left, the three major indexes are on pace to see a losing month. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 are on track to end 5% and 3.3% lower, respectively, while the Dow is slated to drop 1.7%. Asia-Pacific markets saw a sell-off on Wednesday, mirroring moves on Wall Street after a decline in U.S. banks. Shares of JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo dropped 2%, and Bank of America dropped 3%. The action came after Fitch warned it may have to downgrade credit rating dozens of banks, including JPMorgan Chase. Last week, Moody’s lowered its rating on 10 U.S. banks while putting other big institutions on a watchlist for potential downgrades. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.46% to end at 31,766, the first time it has went below the 32,000 mark in over a month, while the Topix closed down 1.29% at 2,260.84. This is despite business sentiment improving in July, according to the Reuters Tankan survey. South Korea’s Kospi came back from a public holiday 1.76% down and closed at 2,525.64, while the Kosdaq saw a larger loss of 2.59% and finished at 878.29, its lowest level since July 11. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.5%, closing at 7,195 and notching its third day of losses in four days. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.31% in its final hour, while mainland Chinese markets were also lower, with the CSI 300 index 0.73% down and ending at 3,818.33. China saw its house price index fall into contraction territory for the first time since April, dropping 0.1% year on year. Oil prices were little changed on Wednesday as investors weighed worries about China’s embattled economy against expectations of tighter supply in the United States. Brent crude futures slipped 7 cents to $84.82 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) fell 8 cents to $81.91 a barrel. Both benchmarks fell more than 1% in the previous session to their lowest since Aug. 8. Gold clawed higher on Wednesday on a weaker dollar and bond yields, recovering some ground after retreating below the key $1,900 level in the last session following robust U.S. economic data. Bullion traders also positioned for minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July policy meeting for further cues on interest rate strategy, as well as U.S. homebuilding and factory output data later in the day. Spot gold edged up 0.2%, to $1,905.25 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.1%, at 1,936.60.