Stock Futures Drop as Traders Wait for Powell's Comments

S&P 500 futures experienced a slight decline of 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell by 0.03% in early trading. In after-hours activity, software firm Snowflake's shares plummeted by 8% despite surpassing quarterly expectations and slightly increasing its full-year product revenue guidance. Urban Outfitters also faced a significant drop, with its stock sliding over 8% after reporting disappointing same-store sales for the second quarter. The trading session on Wednesday marked a continuation of a recent rebound rally, spurred by newly released minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting. The minutes indicated that a "vast majority" of participants believed it would be appropriate to consider lowering the key interest rate at the upcoming September meeting, contingent on forthcoming data. Current market sentiment reflects a 100% probability of a rate cut next month, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, although opinions vary on the extent of the reduction. In Europe, the pan-European benchmark closed higher, with most sectors showing positive performance as markets rebounded after a previous day of losses. Urban Outfitters reported a 9.3% decline in same-store sales for the latest quarter, exceeding Wall Street's expectations of an 8.3% drop. This follows a challenging trend for the retailer, which had already seen a 14% decrease in same-store sales in the same quarter last year. Despite the challenges faced by Urban Outfitters, the company reported adjusted earnings of $1.39 per share on revenues of $1.16 billion, surpassing previous earnings of $1.21 per share. Meanwhile, four out of eleven sectors in the S&P 500 reached 52-week highs on Wednesday, indicating a mixed but resilient market landscape.