Trump criticizes Powell; Stocks steady; Kohl's earnings

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1. Trump on the Fed: President Donald Trump has again criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell over his handling of monetary policy.

In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he is "not thrilled" with Powell for raising interest rates, arguing the central bank should do more to help the US economy.

"Markets have not particularly liked US President Trump's comments, seeing them as a threat to the independence of the central bank," said Paul Donovan, global chief economist at UBS Wealth Management.

The comments helped push the dollar lower against a range of global currencies. US government bond yields declined but have since stabilized.

US stock futures were holding steady on Tuesday.

2. More trade talks: Investors are also looking ahead to trade talks between the United States and China that kick off Wednesday in Washington.

The two sides are expected to discuss their trade relationship and escalating trade war. The next round of US tariffs on $16 billion of Chinese goods is scheduled to go into effect Thursday.

3. Global stock market overview: European markets were little changed.

The mood in Asian markets was mostly positive, with Chinese indexes posting gains. One top performer was Geely Auto (GELYF) — the owner of Volvo — which saw shares surge 7.5%.

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4. Earnings: Kohl's (KSS), JM Smucker (SJM), Coty (COTY) and Toll Brothers (TOL) will release earnings before the open. La-Z-Boy (LZB) and Urban Outfitters (URBN) will follow after the close.

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5. Coming this week:

Tuesday JM Smucker (SJM), Toll Brothers (TOL) and Kohl's (KSS) earnings
Wednesday Target (TGT), Lowe's (LOW) and L Brands (LB) earnings
Thursday Alibaba (BABA), HP (HPQ), Ross Stores (ROST) and Gap (GPS) earnings, US tariffs on 279 Chinese products take effect
Friday Foot Locker (FL)earnings, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell speaks at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole