US stock futures fell on Wednesday, but came off earlier premarket lows as Wall Street assessed the prospects for trade war after President Trump’s massive universal tariffs came into full force.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) slipped roughly 0.5%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) slid 0.7%, after falling over 2% as the tariffs kicked in just after midnight ET. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) wavered along the flat line, shaking off an earlier drop of 1.5%.
Stocks briefly turned green earlier in the morning as China showed signs of restraint as whopping 104% duties on goods imported to the US went into effect. Several hours passed without retaliatory measures, while Beijing has hit back within minutes in the past. Instead, China published a white paper calling for dialogue and consultations with the US, providing some to trade-war fears after it vowed to “fight to the end” on Tuesday.
Read more: Live updates on Trump tariffs fallout
Trump’s announcement of so-called “reciprocal” tariffs stunned markets last week, imposing massive hikes on Vietnam, Japan, India, and others. They continued to bring chaos to Wall Street on Tuesday in another roller-coaster ride of a session that brought the S&P 500 (^GSPC) closer to a bear market.
Investors took in some other signs of optimism, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believed “we can end up with some good deals.” Japan and South Korea are in line for trade talks.
Meanwhile, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting could show how worried policymakers were about stagflation risks from Trump’s tariff push. The release due later sets the stage for Thursday’s update on the Consumer Price Index, which will signal where inflation was headed before Trump’s tariffs went into full force.
Also on deck are Delta’s (DAL) first quarter results on Wednesday, closely watched after the carrier slashed its outlook last month and as earnings season gears up.
LIVE 3 updates
