U.S. stock futures are mixed in premarket trading Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 slightly higher while Nasdaq futures remain under pressure. Treasury yields have eased from recent highs, but oil remains above $90 as investors monitor Middle East tensions. Markets are also focused on retail earnings, semiconductor stocks and today's Federal Reserve minutes. 📊 Premarket Market Snapshot Dow Futures: +0.12% S&P 500 Futures: +0.04% Nasdaq 100 Futures: -0.20% 10-Year Treasury Yield: ~4.69% 30-Year Treasury Yield: ~5.27% VIX: ~15.7 Brent Crude: ~$91.56 Gold: ~$4,419 Bitcoin: ~$64,450 🔥 Key Market Drivers 🧬 Moderna & Merck Melanoma Vaccine Breakthrough #MRNA / #MRK are in focus after Moderna and Merck announced that their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine met the Phase 3 trial's primary recurrence-free survival endpoint and secondary distant metastasis-free survival endpoint in high-risk melanoma patients. Moderna shares surged more than 50% premarket, while Merck gained around 7%. Detailed clinical data have not yet been disclosed. 🤖 Semiconductor Stocks in Focus #NVDA, #AMD, #MU, #MRVL and other semiconductor stocks remain in focus following Tuesday's sector selloff. SK Hynix announced a 40 trillion won (~$28.6 billion) share buyback plan, helping provide some support to the broader semiconductor group. 💻 Oracle Under Pressure #ORCL is under pressure after reports raised concerns about OpenAI's slower revenue growth and deeper losses, adding scrutiny to Oracle's major AI infrastructure commitments. 🛒 Retail Earnings #TGT: Target reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results and raised its full-year outlook. #LOW: Lowe's came under pressure after missing revenue expectations and cutting its full-year comparable-sales outlook to roughly flat. #TJX: TJX raised its full-year profit outlook, although its Q3 earnings guidance came in below expectations. #WMT reports Thursday, providing another important read on U.S. consumer spending. 🏦 Fed Watch — FOMC Minutes FOMC Minutes — 2:00 PM ET Investors will closely watch the July FOMC meeting minutes for additional clues on inflation, interest rates and the Fed's policy outlook. The July meeting was notable for three Fed officials favoring a rate hike, highlighting the growing debate over inflation and monetary policy. 🛢️ Oil & Geopolitics Brent crude remains above $90, with Middle East tensions and uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz keeping energy prices elevated. Higher oil prices could add to inflation pressure and complicate the Federal Reserve's rate outlook. 💵 Treasury Yields The global bond selloff has shown signs of easing. The 10-year Treasury yield is around 4.69%, while the 30-year yield remains near 5.27%, after recently reaching its highest level since 2007. Investors will also watch today's $16 billion 20-year Treasury auction for signs of demand for longer-duration government debt. 🌏 Global Markets Asian markets remain under pressure, particularly semiconductor stocks, with major indexes declining as investors reassess valuations and the outlook for AI-related spending. 🎯 Market Theme AI & semiconductor volatility + elevated oil + Fed uncertainty vs. strong corporate earnings. Today's major catalysts are the MRNA/MRK Phase 3 cancer-vaccine breakthrough, FOMC minutes, Treasury auction, oil prices and semiconductor-sector moves, while retail earnings continue to provide insight into the strength of the U.S. consumer.