US Stocks Likely To Open Higher After S&P 500 Retreats 6% From Previous Record: 'Even The Best Years Have Volatility,' Says Expert

U.S. stock futures were advancing on Wednesday following Tuesday’s selloff. Futures of all four benchmark indices rose in premarket trading.

A trade war between major U.S. trading partners escalated on Tuesday as President Donald Trump imposed new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Canada and China swiftly retaliated with their tariffs on U.S. goods, mounting tensions and raising fears of a global economic slowdown.

During his joint address to Congress on Tuesday evening, Trump reiterated that “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening. And it will happen rather quickly. There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that.”

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.25%, while the two-year yield was at 3.98%. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, there is a 93% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged for the March meeting.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Wednesday. SPY was up 0.68% to $580.80, and QQQ advanced 0.87% to $499.87, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From The Last Session

Information technology was the only sector that was just above the flatline on Tuesday, while the market witnessed another day of fall led by financials, industrials, consumer staples, utilities, and consumer discretionary sectors. S&P 500 declined 6% on Tuesday from its previous 52-week high of 6,147.43 points.

The market erased its post-election gains after Trump confirmed a 25% levy on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% tariff on China. He further stated during his Congress address that reciprocal tariffs will take effect April 2nd onwards.

Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. CRWD issued a disappointing earnings forecast despite beating the fourth quarter estimates, Target Corp. TGT and Best Buy Co. Inc. BBY also tanked on weaker than estimated outlook.

Insights From Analysts

As the tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and additional duties on China went live, Brian Therien, investment strategist at Edward Jones said that the eventual impact on inflation could be partially offset by currency exchange rates if the U.S. dollar strengthens relative to other currencies, making imported products less expensive.

“In addition, manufacturers may not be willing or able to fully pass along tariffs to customers, narrowing profit margins, which can also help mitigate price increases. The economic effect of tariffs could also be partially offset by pro-growth policies, such as tax cuts and deregulation,” he added.

However, economist Craig Shapiro argued that U.S. attempts to raise tariffs could be counterproductive as the dollar value may decline.

“As the Trump administration elevates the trade war with tariffs, perhaps the best defense the rest of the world has against him is simply selling their U.S. assets, taking their ball and going home,” he said.

Economist Peter Schiff also bashed tariffs saying that it was not the way to rebuild America’s manufacturing base and the competitiveness of the American industry needed to be restored. According to him, it required “higher interest rates, reduced consumption, lower asset prices, and a severe recession in the short run.”

As S&P 500 slid nearly 6% from its previous high on Feb. 19, Ryan Detrick of Carson Research noted that the correction was “mild”. He cited 2023 as an example and said, “it had one 5% mild correction and one 10% correction.”

“Even the best years have volatility,” said Detrick.

Furthermore, he reinstated confidence among investors by highlighting that Wednesday has by far been the best day of the week in 2025.

See Also: How to Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

Here’s what investors will keep on Wednesday:

• February’s ADP employment data will be released at 8:15 a.m., ET.

• The S&P final U.S. services PMI for February will be out by 9:45 a.m., ET.

• January’s factory orders data and February’s ISM services data will be announced at 10:00 a.m., ET.

• Fed Beige Book will be released at 2:00 p.m., ET.

Stocks In Focus:

• Foot Locker Inc. FL was up 1.61% in the premarket on Wednesday ahead of its earnings, which will be released after the opening bell. Analysts expect it to report earnings of 72 cents per share on revenue of $2.32 billion

• Campbell’s Co. CPB was 0.82% lower as Wall Street expects it to report quarterly earnings of 72 cents per share on revenue of $2.74 billion before the opening bell.

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. ANF advanced 2.69% ahead of its earnings, which will be released after the opening bell. Analysts expect it to report earnings of $3.52 per share on revenue of $1.56 billion.

• Marvell Technology Inc. MRVL rose 2.31% as Wall Street expects it to report quarterly earnings of 59 cents per share on revenue of $1.80 billion after the closing bell.

• Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. CRWD slipped 8.24% as it said it expects first-quarter revenue to be between $1.1 billion and $1.106 billion versus estimates of $1.106 billion.

• ARB IOT Group Ltd. ARBB zoomed 73.31% after bagging a $45 million AI data center order.

• Diamondrock Hospitality Co. DRH was 2.34% higher as it boosted quarterly dividend to $0.08 per share, payable April 11th to shareholders with a record date on March 28th. This represents a 3.95% yield, up from the previous dividend of $0.03.

• ReTo Eco-Solutions Inc. RETO plummeted 29.92% after it said that it will enact a 10-to-1 reverse stock split on March 7, aiming to boost its share price and maintain its Nasdaq listing. This will reduce outstanding shares from 19.3 million to approximately 1.9 million.

• Wearable Devices Ltd. WLDS surged 17.35% as it will be showcasing its Mudra Link, a neural sensing wristband enabling gesture control across multiple platforms, at MWC Barcelona 2025.

• AeroVironment, Inc. AVAV tanked 20.01% after issuing disappointing full-year guidance, falling short of analyst expectations for both earnings and revenue. Fiscal third-quarter results also missed estimates.

Commodities, Gold And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 1.48% to hover around $67.25 per barrel.

The gold spot index was down by 0.04% to $2,916.72 per ounce. Its last record high was at $2,956.37 per ounce. The Dollar Index was down 0.75% at the 104.955 level.

Asian markets closed higher on Wednesday except Australia’s ASX 200 index. India’s S&P BSE Sensex, China’s CSI 300, South Korea’s Kospi, Japan’s Nikkei 225, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index advanced. European markets were also higher in trade.

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