US STOCKS-Futures gain on upbeat Target, Lowe's earnings; Fed minutes eyed

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* Futures up: Dow 0.65%, S&P 0.73%, Nasdaq 0.85%

By Medha Singh
Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on
Wednesday as upbeat earnings reports from retailers Lowe's and
Target reflected robust consumer demand, helping ease some
concerns around slowing economic growth.
Shares of home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N rose
10.5% in premarket trading as it joined bigger rival Home Depot
HD.N in beating profit estimates.
Big-box retailer Target Corp TGT8.N surged 13.4% after it
beat quarterly same-store sales and profit estimates.
The centerpiece for the day will be the release of the
minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, when it cut
interest rates for the first time in more than a decade.
U.S.-China trade tensions have taken a turn for the worse
since the Fed's move, adding to economic risks and putting in
focus Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday.
His remarks will be scrutinized for clues on what more
policymakers are planning to boost growth.
The three main Wall Street indexes closed lower on Tuesday
following a three-day rebound, which was driven by signs that
major economies were considering stimulus to boost growth.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said his administration
was looking at cuts to payroll and capital gains taxes, a week
after the U.S. yield curve inverted, which is widely viewed as a
harbinger of a recession.
"Fundamentally you see concerns about the slowdown, but you
have global central banks aiming to unleash stimulus and that is
helping sentiment," said Rabobank analyst Bas Van Geffen.
At 6:58 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 169 points, or
0.65%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 21.25 points, or 0.73%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 65.25 points, or 0.85%.
Interest-rate sensitive bank stocks were up after a slide in
the previous session. Bank of America Corp BAC.N , Citigroup
Inc C.N , JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , Goldman Sachs GS.N and
Morgan Stanley MS.N gained between 0.6% and 1.2%.
Data from National Association of Realtors at 10:00 a.m. ET
is expected to show existing home sales rose to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million units in July, from 5.27
million units a month earlier.