U.S. equity futures fell on Sunday evening as investors braced for key inflation data, after almost completely reversing its violent market rout last week.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.08% and Nasdaq 100 futures inched lower by 0.05%.
On Friday, all of the major averages rose to end the week but stopped just shy of a full recovery. The Dow finished the week lower by 0.6%, while the S&P 500 ended down just 0.04% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished with a 0.18% loss.
"Emotions are high and market swings tend to cluster together, so I wouldn't be shocked if we get another week of turbulence," Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, told CNBC. "People are beginning to brace for a recession even though a crisis hasn't materialized. Fear often works in our favor as stock market investors. More relief rallies look possible if economic data holds up, and rate-sensitive sectors could continue to lead the market higher."
Investors this week are hoping to get a better sense of the state of the economy after recent fears of a job market slowdown spooked traders and rocked the market. On Tuesday, they'll be watching the July producer price index report, followed by the consumer price index Wednesday, for more confirmation that price growth has continued to stabilize. July retail sales are also due out Thursday.
"Another round of good [inflation] data could help calm fears that the Fed is potentially losing the plot," Cox said. "Investors have jumped to conclusions about the economy, and now they're going to analyze a fresh batch of data to judge how warranted this sell-off actually is."
"Retail sales and retailer earnings may show that fears of a job market slowdown are overblown," she added. "We haven't seen too many alarming details about the U.S. consumer up until now, so it's important to consider the totality of spending data instead of panicking over a lukewarm jobs report."
Home Depot will report earnings before the bell Tuesday, and Walmart will report on Thursday. – CNBC