US stock futures trod water on Tuesday as Wall Street braced for results from retail giants and rising concerns over inflation clouded the path to an interest rate cut.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) wobbled along the flat line, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed.

A steady march of earnings reports from retail giants begins later with Home Depot (HD) reporting before the bell. Target (TGT) will share its earnings on Wednesday, followed by Walmart (WMT) on Thursday. Taken together, the group's results will provide insight into how companies and consumers are faring as Trump's tariffs kick in.

Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs

Meanwhile, President Trump continued to press for further Ukraine talks, reportedly asking Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

This week, investors are counting down to Friday, when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming. The event often signals the latest in central bank policymakers' views on interest rates, and Powell's speech could be his last as Fed chair. Clues as to what may come next at the Fed's September policy meeting will be in focus as stubborn inflation and a faltering job market make officials' next move a particularly tricky one.

On Monday, stocks closed little changed as uncertainty loomed over talks to end the war in Ukraine and the Federal Reserve's next call on interest rates. Last week, July's inflation print and retail data shook confidence that a rate cut in September was a near certainty.

Shares in Palo Alto Networks (PANW) gained in premarket trading as investors cheered a strong forecast that signaled the company would get a big boost from AI. Elsewhere in tech, SoftBank agreed to invest $2 billion in Intel's (INTC) common stock.

Economic data: Housing starts (July); Building permits (July)

Earnings: Home Depot (HD), XPeng (XPEV), Medtronic (MDT), Amer Sports (AS), Toll Brothers (TOL), La-Z-Boy (LZB)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

Signs of a healthier path to new records emerge for stocks

Nvidia is working on an H20-beating AI chip for China

Trump tariffs get S&P seal of approval

Why stocks are looking ripe for a regime shift

Intel gets a $2 billion lifeline from SoftBank

Trump pushes Putin-Zelensky meeting after talks with both

Home Depot to report earnings as Wall Street eyes US sales growth

Why Google just boosted its stake in a bitcoin miner

With chatter today that the government is nearing taking a 10% stake in Intel, I guess I shouldn't be shocked the bruised tech giant is hoping to gain some Street cred on its future product roadmap by tapping Softbank and Masa for cash. Embattled Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan also gains a Trump friend in Masa.

Softbank will invest $2 billion in Intel at $23 a share.

“Semiconductors are the foundation of every industry. For more than 50 years, Intel has been a trusted leader in innovation. This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role,\\" Softbank chair and CEO Masayoshi Son said in a statement.

Added Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan, \\"We are very pleased to deepen our relationship with SoftBank, a company that’s at the forefront of so many areas of emerging technology and innovation and shares our commitment to advancing U.S. technology and manufacturing leadership. Masa and I have worked closely together for decades, and I appreciate the confidence he has placed in Intel with this investment.”

It's still something to see this unfolding at Intel, which has billions in cash and is in no means in a financial death spiral. Given Masa's close ties to the Trump administration, I suspect the government stake announcement could next. None of this is a good signal on Intel's turnaround, bottom line.

A Trump administration spokesperson didn't return my request for comment.