Retail Sales Fuel Rebound After Powell Drama Rattles Markets

Bill Baruch is back at the NYSE for the CNBC Halftime Report, for the hour. Fed, data, earnings, and more. Tune in!

E-mini S&P (September) / E-mini NQ (September)

S&P, yesterday’s close: Settled at 6303.25, up 19.25

NQ, yesterday’s close: Settled at 23,076.50, up 19.75

E-mini S&P and E-mini NQ futures experienced a rollercoaster of news; President Trump was going to fire Fed Chair Powell, then he was not. For now, there could be some closure, and Fed Chair Powell is more likely to finish his term in May 2026. On the technical side, what matters is that price action responded to a critical area of support and closed at session highs. This carries into a deluge of economic data this morning, headlined by Retail Sales, along with weekly Jobless Claims, Philly Fed Manufacturing, and Import/Export Price Index, all due at 7:30 am CT.

Breaking: Retail Sales, Initial Jobless Claims, and Philly Fed Manufacturing all came in better than expected.

E-mini S&P futures swept stops below major three-star support at 6248.75-6253.75, a level that aligns with unchanged on the month, before ripping back to the 6300 area, which is unchanged on the week. The range is well-defined with strong resistance at the record closing high of 6324.25 and above, down to the aforementioned support. As today unfolds, we expect our Pivot and point of balance in both the E-mini S&P and E-mini NQ to guide strength or weakness, coming in at…

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