By YURI KAGEYAMA and MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writers

Wall Street bounced between small gains and losses in meek trading early Wednesday ahead of the new retail sales numbers this week and any hints from Federal Reserve officials about the U.S. central bank’s future interest rate decisions.

Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.2% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.4%.

There’s still some relief in markets after the U.S. and China agreed Monday to a 90-day pause in their trade war to allow for negotiations. How that pause will influence the Fed’s next interest rate decision remains cloudy.

In light of Tuesday’s data showing that inflation cooled for third straight month in April, Fed officials would have likely been leaning toward restarting interest rate cuts in the absence of tariffs. The fed cut its benchmark rate three times last year but has since frozen rates while it awaits further evidence of how the tariffs and other policy changes — such as immigration restrictions and potential tax cuts — affect the economy.

Investors and economists will be paying close attention to a public appearances by two Fed officials Wednesday, Fed governor Christopher Waller and Philip Jefferson, the Fed’s vice chair and a top lieutenant to Jerome Powell, followed by a speech by Powell himself at a conference in Washington on Thursday.

Also Thursday, the government reports its latest data on retail sales in the U.S. and Walmart, the world’s biggest retailer, reports quarterly earnings. Investors may be more interested in the retail giant’s forecast than its results as many companies withdraw their financial guidance for 2025 due to uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

American Eagle Outfitters became the latest retailer to do so late Tuesday, which sent its shares tumbling more than 14% before the opening bell Wednesday. The retailer said it would write down $75 million in spring and summer merchandise and that it expects first-quarter revenue to slide 5%, or more than $1 billion.

In Asian trading, Chinese markets rallied on expectations of another rush in export orders during the 90-day grace period for China-U.S. tariffs.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.3% to 23,640.65, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% to 3,403.95.

Chinese tech companies made big gains, with games and entertainment giant Tencent Holdings up 3%, search engine company Baidu up 4% and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holdings advancing 3.4%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.1% to finish at 38,128.13. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.1% to 8,279.60.

South Korea’s Kospi surged 1.2% to 2,640.57.

The relief over the trade truce between the U.S. and China is tepid among global businesses and investors given uncertainty over how long it might last and where tariffs might go in the months ahead.

The hope is that Trump will ease his stiff tariffs on trading partners worldwide before they create a recession and send inflation spiking higher.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.5%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.4%. Britain’s FTSE 100 was essentially unchanged.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell 77 cents to $62.90 a barrel following a four-day rally. Brent crude, the international standard, declined 75 cents to $65.88 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar edged down to 146.02 Japanese yen from 147.21 yen. The euro cost $1.1225, up from $1.1188.