Stock futures little changed Wednesday as traders looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting — seeking further insight into the prospect of an interest rate cut. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 77 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 focused also both rose 0.2%. Target jumped more than 15% in premarket trading after reporting earnings for the fiscal second quarter that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. But fellow retailer Macy’s dropped more than 9% on a lowered full-year sales forecast. Stocks are coming off a losing session, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapping their longest winning streaks since late 2023. Tuesday’s moves follow a rocky period for stocks after a weak U.S. jobs report and an interest rate hike from the Bank of Japan sparked a global sell-off on Aug. 5. That day, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) spiked to its highest level since the pandemic-era market plunge in 2020. Equities have bounced back since the market turmoil, with strong retail sales and a weaker-than-expected inflation report helping alleviate recession fears last week. Along with minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, Wall Street anxiously awaits commentary from central bank leader Jerome Powell. The Fed chair is expected to deliver remarks Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where he could provide further clues into the Fed’s next rate decision at its September gathering. “To us, the key will be Chair Powell’s tone, which we expect to lean dovish,” said Jack Janasiewicz, lead portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions. “Simply put, inflation continues to trend towards the 2% target seemingly at a rate exceeding consensus. Combine this with signs that the labor market is softening and one gets the sense that there is little need to retain a hawkish stance.” U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by just over 1 basis point at 3.807%. The 2-year Treasury yield slid to 3.981% after dipping by almost 2 basis points. Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower on Wednesday after U.S. benchmark indexes, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq Composite, snapped an eight-day winning streak overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.29% after the data release, closing at 37,951.8, while the broad based Topix fell 0.21% and ended at 2,664.86. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.82% as of its final hour of trade, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was 0.33% lower to end at 3,321.64. The index inched closer to its six-month low set on Aug. 14. South Korea’s Kospi reversed losses to climb 0.17% to 2,701.13, but the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.96% to end at 779.87. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also swung back into positive territory late in the session, inching up 0.16% to finish at 8,010. This is the first time the index crossed the 8,000 mark since the Aug. 2 market meltdown. Oil prices held broadly steady on Wednesday after a run of declines that have pushed Brent down to almost $77, driven by stubborn fears over Chinese demand and diminishing concerns about conflict spreading in the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose 9 cents to $77.29 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $73.23, up 6 cents. Since peaking above $82 on Monday last week, Brent had shed 6.2% of its value by the end of trading on Tuesday, closing at a two-week low of $77.20. WTI fell 7.5% in the same period. Gold prices were trading below record high levels on Wednesday after a rally fueled by Western fund inflows and U.S. rate-cut optimism, as investors braced for minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting for clarity on the depth of cuts. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $2,517.38 per ounce, as of 0238 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $2,531.60 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.2% to $2,555.20. Gold has gained about $460 or 22% so far this year, with geopolitical tensions and uncertainty created by the upcoming U.S. Presidential elections and prospective rate cuts set to help power the precious metal to even loftier levels.