S&P 500 futures edged higher on Tuesday, as investors saw reasons for optimism in the latest retail data and Bank of America’s stronger-than-expected earnings report. Futures tied to the broad index and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 161 points, or 0.4%. Bank of America rose more than 2% before the bell after earnings came in ahead of analyst forecasts. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley slipped more than 2% despite also beating expectations after a big run up into the release. They’re the latest household names to post quarterly financial results as the new reporting season kicks into gear. “Our sense is that markets will begin to shift their focus in the coming week to 2Q 2024 earnings season, which we expect to be very solid,” Chris Senyek, chief investment strategist at Wolfe Research, told clients on Tuesday. Retail sales data also came in better than anticipated, which could ease concerns that the consumer was buckling. June sales were unchanged, while economists polled by Dow Jones predicted a decline of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.4%, a larger gain than the 0.1% consensus forecast. Those moves follow a winning day on Wall Street that pushed the Dow to all-time highs. Investors bet that the unsuccessful assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump would be a tailwind for the Republican presidential candidate and his party in November’s election. A victory for the GOP at the polls could pave the way for favorable tax and fiscal policies for investors. The market also continued its rotation into small-cap stocks, with the Russell 2000 rising nearly 2% during Monday’s session. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) added about 1% in Tuesday premarket trading. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ticked lower on Tuesday, continuing a recent downward trend. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slid around 2 basis points at 4.21%. The 2-year Treasury yield advanced nearly 2 basis points to 4.47%. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Tuesday as investors assessed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s dovish comments on rate cuts that sent Wall Street higher overnight. Mainland China’s CSI 300 climbed 0.63%% to close the day at 3,498.28. Led by consumer stocks, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.52% in its final hour of trade. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.2% to 41,275.08 and the Topix rose 0.34%, ending at 2,904.5 as markets resumed trading after a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.18% and finished at 2,866.09, while the Kosdaq swung the opposite direction and fell 1.56% to 839.61. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.23%, retreating from the index’s all-time closing high on Monday and finishing at 7,999.3. Oil prices dipped on Tuesday on worries of a slowing Chinese economy crimping demand and despite a growing consensus the U.S. Federal Reserve could begin cutting its key interest rate as soon as September. Brent futures were down 66 cents, or 0.8%, to $84.19 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 72 cents, or 0.9%, to $81.19. Gold prices rose on Tuesday as comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell bolstered the case for a September rate cut, while investors awaited more U.S. economic data for further monetary policy cues. Spot gold gained 0.7% to $2,440.01 per ounce. The bullion hovers only slightly below the record high of $2,449.89 hit on May 20.