Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Surge Higher; Trump Tariffs News; Nvidia, TSMC, AMD, Tesla, More Movers
Stock Futures Rise as Investors Weigh Up Trade Tensions
Stocks looked set to pare back some of their recent losses Thursday, with investors hopeful that trade talks between the U.S. and Japan could be a sign that President Donald Trump could end up scaling back some of his tariff plans.
Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 364 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures were up 1%, and contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.1%.
The blue-chip indexes had tumbled Wednesday after chip maker Nvidia said it would now need a license to export some of its processors to China, stoking worries about trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
But Trump said after the closing bell that talks with Japan were off to a good start, boosting hopes that his administration will be able to broker trade agreements and walk back some of its tariff plans.
Following Nvidia’s news, fellow chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported better-than-expected earnings ahead of the Thursday’s market open. But CEO C.C. Wei warned Trump’s tariffs could serve as a headwind.
Investors will also be weighing up Wednesday’s better-than-expected retail sales data and Jerome Powell’s latest speech, in which the Federal Reserve chair made clear that the central bank won’t step in to rescue markets.
The European Central Bank is set to announce its latest interest-rate decision Thursday, and the market will be eyeing whether policymakers offer any update about how tariffs have impacted their economic outlook.
The three blue-chip indexes all tumbled Wednesday after chip maker Nvidia said it would now need a license to export some of its processors to China. Following Nvidia’s news, chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported better-than-expected earnings ahead of the opening bell Thursday. But CEO C.C. Wei warned Trump’s tariffs could serve as a headwind.
The fresh chip curbs overshadowed a report that Beijing could be open to entering trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
“These reports contained so many ‘ifs’, ‘buts’, and ‘maybes’ that the offer seemed to be more of a token gesture, than anything else…the rhetoric from China was very much in keeping with that heard in recent weeks, so doesn’t really move the needle very much,” Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown said. “Still, I guess it shows how desperate participants are to jump on any kind of good news right now.”
Investors also appeared to see better-than-expected retail data as a sign consumers are stocking up ahead of tariffs, rather than an indicator that the U.S. economy is looking strong.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell added to the sour mood by making it clear the central bank won’t step in to rescue markets. The European Central Bank is set to announce its latest interest-rate decision Thursday, and the market will be watching to see if policymakers offer any update about how tariffs have affected their economic outlook.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed 4 basis points to 4.325% in early trading. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the buck against a basket of 16 other currencies, ticked up 0.3%.
