US stock futures faltered on Tuesday as investors weighed the likely fallout of President Trump’s latest tariff blitz and the US government careened toward a shutdown.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and on the S&P 500 (ES=F) both dropped roughly 0.2%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also slipped about 0.1%, coming off modest closing gains on Wall Street.
Trump sent out a fresh flurry of tariffs on lumber, timber, and certain types of furniture late Monday, hot on the heels of a threat of levies on foreign-made movies and last week’s plan to put 100% duties on branded drugs. Concerns are growing about the impact on the global economy from Trump’s ever-expanding trade offensive, after new data showed China and Japan’s factories are still caught in a slump.
Meanwhile, markets are bracing for a government shutdown after Trump and Republicans met with Democrats in the Oval Office on Monday but failed to strike a deal to avert a halt to funding. “I think we’re headed to a shutdown,” Vice President JD Vance said after the meeting.
Lawmakers have until 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday to reach a last-gasp agreement or see the first stoppage since 2019. Odds of a shutdown are near 85%, according to Polymarket.
For Wall Street, the concern is that the government’s economic data releases will halt during a stoppage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will “completely cease operations” if it happens, the Department of Labor said, likely delaying the release of Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report among other top-tier data.
That September jobs report is pivotal to the Federal Reserve’s policy thinking, with the health of the labor market in high focus after mixed economic readings and apparent division at the Fed shook faith in two more rate cuts this year.
A JOLTS update on September job openings due later Tuesday will be closely watched, as it could be the last labor market insight from BLS for some time. Data on consumer confidence is also on the docket.
Looking forward, Nike (NKE) is expected to report earnings after the bell.
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