Stock futures continue to stagnate after Dow posts five-day winning streak

Stock market futures were mostly flat early Thursday morning after the Dow ended a five-day winning streak and the recent rally faded.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 10 points. S&P 500 futures were also subdued while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%.

In regular trading, the Dow Jones fell about 172 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% for its first negative session in four. The Nasdaq Composite was the relative underperformer, plunging 1.25%. Both the tech-heavy index and the S&P 500 are now on track to snap up a four-week winning streak.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting led Wednesday’s market action. The central bank remains committed to tackling inflation, but has indicated it may adjust its pace of tightening depending on market conditions.

Investors were hoping the Fed might slow the pace of its rate hikes after July’s consumer price index reading showed a slight slowdown in inflation. But not everyone is convinced.

“We’re in the camp that the Fed is not going to pivot,” Scott Wren, senior global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”

“The minutes haven’t changed our minds at all. We think a 75 basis point hike is likely in September, and we’ll see more hikes at the end of the year…we think that the market is a bit high here,” he added.

The latest batch of earnings reports did not help traders’ sentiment during the session. Target’s quarter missed estimates, with Lowe’s results mixed.

More retail revenue is on deck for Thursday, with Kohl’s, Tapestry, Estee Lauder and Ross Stores all set to report. Applied Materials will also release its quarterly update.

Some key economic data will also be released on Thursday, including weekly jobless claims and existing home sales.