Stock market news live updates: Stock futures open little changed after record-setting session - Yahoo Finance

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Stock futures opened little changed Tuesday evening after another record-setting session, with investors looking ahead to a key Federal Reserve event later this week.

Contracts on the S&P 500 were flat to slightly higher. The index set record intraday and closing highs during the regular trading day, with investors piling into stocks in the energy and consumer discretionary sectors that had lagged over the past month. The Nasdaq also gained another 1%, rising for a fourth straight session and touching record intraday and all-time highs.

Stocks have marched higher amid optimism over continued strength in corporate profits and economic activity, even as growth rates on both these fronts look poised to slow after an initial reopening surge. Retailer Best Buy (BBY) posted second-quarter results that exceeded consensus estimates Tuesday morning, and the company also boosted its full-year sales guidance in a move that reaffirm that heightened consumer spending on electronics was continuing into the second half of the year.

More movement on legislation that would increase government spending on physical and human infrastructure added to investor sentiment. Late Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to move forward with a $3.5 trillion budget plan, laying the groundwork for a major economic package that would address issues including healthcare, childcare and climate change. As part of the legislative action, the House also set up a final vote on the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in the Senate earlier this month.

Tuesday's session also saw a resurgence in "meme stocks," or shares that have been popularized throughout the year on social media platforms including Reddit. GameStop (GME) shares gained 28% for their best day since March, while AMC Entertainment (AMC) and BlackBerry (BB) advanced by 20% and 9%, respectively.

U.S. equities have marched to fresh all-time highs ahead of the Federal Reserve's virtual Jackson Hole Symposium, which kicks off on Thursday. After last week's July Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes came off as more hawkish than many market participants were expecting, more clues on the path forward for monetary policy remain a key focal point. Namely, traders are looking to see whether central bank officials signal when they will announce and implement tapering of their crisis-era asset purchase program.

"What the market really wants to hear is ... that the Fed is willing to adjust if in fact the Delta variant does have a negative impact on the economy going forward," Kristina Hooper, Invesco chief global market strategist, told Yahoo Finance. "And so that is going to be the key message — that willingness to be flexible depending upon what happens to the U.S. economy, that it is not full speed ahead adhering to a taper timeline."

Other strategists also suggested that a "wait and see" approach from the Fed would be the most welcome outcome from equity investors.

"While we've seen the progress on the labor market that I think the Fed wanted to see ... we're obviously experiencing this temporary setback in terms of growth momentum," Aneta Markowska, Jefferies chief financial economist, told Yahoo Finance. "It makes it difficult for the Fed to signal anything and to commit to any taper timeline at this point, but I think they do have to acknowledge that we have made further progress on those goals."

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