May 26, 2022: -Earlier this month, U.S. stock futures were lower on Wednesday as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s release of its policy meeting.

Stock futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average came down to 112 points or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures have plunged 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures then lost 4% after the Nasdaq Composite published an abrupt loss in the earlier session.

Dick’s Sporting Goods shares dropped over 11% in premarket trading, even after topping earnings and revenue estimates for its first quarter after the retailer cut its outlook between the increasing inflation and ongoing supply chain challenges.

Best Buy dropped over 3% premarket after Barclays downgraded the shares, after a mixed earnings report on Tuesday in which the electronics retailer cut its outlook.

Investors and analysts have pointed out that the ongoing retail wreck reflects a shift in consumers’ demand for services rather than goods. Some have suggested that stocks may be getting overly punished for their results.

“I know everybody’s focused on Walmart and Target,” which spooked investors when they plummeted on weak results last week, “but let’s focus on something like TJX that delivered and raised their margin guidance,” Hightower Capital CIO Stephanie Link said on Wednesday on CNBC.

She noted that Ralph Lauren beat on the top and bottom lines, and Nordstrom’s designer and shoe business helped comps due to the people wanting to buy things for occasions. On Wednesday, Nordstrom shares added over 4% after the retailer exceeded sales expectations and increased its full-year outlook.

“Services and high-end are still doing pretty good,” Link said.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers posted quarterly results that beat analyst expectations, sending the stock up over 3% in the premarket.

The moves came after a downbeat session for the Nasdaq, which slipped following a warning of slowing growth from social media company Snap, which rang other social media and tech stocks, like Meta Platforms, Twitter, and Alphabet.

This week, traders will continue to parse through earnings reports to see how companies are handling inflationary pressures. Snowflake and Nvidia are set to post quarterly reports after the bell.

White investors await the recent meeting minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee on the economic front. At the May 4 meeting, the Fed hiked rates by half a percentage point, with Chair Jerome Powell saying that inflation is “much too high, and we understand the hardship it is causing. We’re moving expeditiously to bring it back down.”