• Target beat Wall Street's expectations for earnings and revenue.
• Weekly mortgage refinance applications came back after soaring last week.
• GM thinks its newest electric pickup truck can top its rivals.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Taking a pause

The market rally took a breather on Tuesday as all three major indexes ticked lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.56 points, or 0.15%. The S&P 500, meanwhile, slid 0.2% to 5,597.12, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.33% to 17,816.94. Tuesday's losses snapped an eight-day win streak for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. In fact, if the S&P 500 had finished Tuesday with a positive gain, it would have marked the index's longest winning streak since 2004. Investors will turn their attention to minutes from the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting that are due Wednesday. Follow live market updates.

2. On Target

Target beat Wall Street's expectations for earnings and revenue in the second quarter, and sales grew about 3%. The retailer said shoppers made more discretionary purchases on items like clothing. Shares rose more than 10% in premarket trading Tuesday as Target showed improvement in generating profits. But it kept its previous full-year sales forecast the same and issued a cautious note, saying it expects comparable sales for the full year to fall on the lower end of its estimated range of flat to up 2%.

3. Mini boom

Weekly mortgage refinance rates have come back down to earth after soaring last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index showed that applications to refinance a home loan fell 15% from the previous week. While mortgage rates are falling, and are now at 6.5%, most borrowers who already own homes have rates well below 5%, as they fell below 3% in the first two years of the pandemic. That said, the 30-year fixed rate has fallen 32 basis points in the past four weeks and is 81 basis points lower than it was at the same time last year.

4. Electric dreams

General Motors is aiming to outsell its competitors in the electric pickup truck market. The automaker, through its premium GMC brand, is launching an electric Sierra pickup that it hopes will lead the way. But to reach its goal, the new Sierra EV will have to outsell its sibling Chevrolet Silverado EV, as well as competitors from Ford Motor, Rivian Automotive and Tesla, which led such sales with its Cybertruck in the second quarter, Motor Intelligence reports. The electric truck market remains in its infancy, but the Sierra EV joins electric versions of the Hummer, including an SUV and pickup, in GMC's electric "truck" lineup.

5. Fast fashion fight

The fast-fashion wars are heating up. Chinese-linked giant Shein sued its rival Temu, accusing it of routinely stealing its designs. Shein also alleged in the suit — which was filed Monday in Washington, D.C., federal court — that Temu loses money on each sale it makes and uses trademark infringement to make up for the losses. But Shein has had to fend off similar copyright allegations itself from a slew of independent artists and brands, including Levi Strauss and H&M. Temu even sued Shein last year over copyright concerns and allegations that it coerces suppliers into exclusivity agreements. 

— CNBC's Alex Harring, Melissa Repko, Diana Olick, Michael Wayland and Gabrielle Fonrouge contributed to this report.