S&P 500 futures dip after market stages a comeback rally fueled by hopes for tariff concessions: Live updates

Stock futures were under pressure Thursday as investors sought out more clarity on the latest U.S. tariff measures.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 381 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 1.1% and 1.4%, respectively.

U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports took effect this week, rocking financial markets. Canada and China responded with retaliatory levies of its own, while Mexico said it would unveil measures over the weekend.

The major averages have lost more than 1% this week as trade tensions escalate. But the benchmarks got a boost Wednesday after the White House said it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

This development fueled traders’ hopes that Trump could provide further exemptions. Yet some on Wall Street questioned the effectiveness of these exceptions.

“Exempting auto makers for just one month from draconian tariffs is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound … given the torrent of trade/tariff announcements planned by the White House in the coming months,” Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge wrote.

A continued unwind of the popular artificial intelligence trade that has boosted the market for more than a year also hurt Thursday’s premarket.

Notably, chipmaker Marvell Technology dropped more than 16% after the company issued mixed first-quarter guidance. Other semiconductor builders such as ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia also slid before the bell.

On top of that, a string of recent economic reports raised alarm that Trump’s policies could hinder the U.S. economy. Those came ahead of Friday’s closely watched jobs report.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing reading both indicated fear of rising input costs because of the tariffs. Data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released Thursday showed layoff announcements soared to 2020 highs, which the outplacement firm found was driven by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government’s workforce.

Jobless claims total 221,000, lower than expected

Initial claims for unemployment benefits dipped last week despite the Trump administration’s moves to shrink the government work force, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ending March 1, down 21,000 from the prior period and below the Dow Jones estimate for 235,000. The total was about in line with the four-week average of 224,250.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose to just shy of 1.9 million, an increase of 42,000 from the prior period.

—Jeff Cox

Layoffs hit 2020 high as Trump, Musk shrink government

Job cuts surged to their highest level in nearly five years in February, due in part to President Donald Trump’s efforts to cut down the federal government workforce, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

The firm reported that U.S. employers announced 172,017 layoffs for the month, up 245% from January and the highest monthly count since July 2020. What’s more, it marked the highest total for the month of February since 2009 during the global financial crisis.

More than one-third of the total came from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s efforts, with Trump’s blessing, to reduce the federal headcount through the so-called DOGE initiative. Challenger put the total of announced federal job cuts at 62,242, spanning 17 agencies.

— Jeff Cox, Alex Harring

Stocks head for losing week

Despite Wednesday’s bounce, stocks are still on pace to notch losses this week.

The Dow and S&P 500 have each dropped 1.9% week to date. The Nasdaq Composite has slid 1.6%.

— Alex Harring

Marvell Technology falls even after earnings beat

Shares of Marvell Technology dropped more than 16% even after the company reported fourth-quarter results that beat analyst expectations.

The chipmaker earned 60 cents per share, excluding certain items, on revenue of $1.82 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of 59 cents per share on revenue of $1.8 billion.

To be sure, the company’s guidance for the first quarter was mixed. Marvell sees earnings per share of 61 cents — plus or minus 5 cents. Analysts polled by FactSet expected guidance of 60 cents per share.

— Fred Imbert

More S&P 500 constituents are outperforming as leadership broadens, according to Fidelity’s Timmer

Market breadth is improving, even amid high levels of consolidation, according to Jurrien Timmer, director of global macro at Fidelity.

“So far, the S&P 500 has notched a 78% price gain since the 2022 low. That’s still below the average but in line with past cycles in which rising rates restrained equity prices,” Timmer wrote in a post on X. “Meanwhile, the narrow leadership has gotten slightly less narrow, with 40% of the index outperforming on a year-over-year basis (up from 26% in 2023).”

— Pia Singh

Marvell, Victoria’s Secret making moves after Wednesday’s close

Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:

• Marvell Technology — Shares of the semiconductor solutions provider plunged about 13%. In the fiscal fourth quarter, Marvell reported adjusted earnings of 60 cents per share on revenue of $1.82 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast earnings of 59 cents per share on revenue of $1.80 billion. The company also offered guidance for the first quarter that was just slightly higher than estimates.
• Zscaler — Shares of the cloud security company jumped 4% on the back of its strong quarterly financials. For its fiscal second quarter, Zscaler reported 78 cents per share in adjusted earnings on revenue of $648 million. Analysts surveyed by LSEG expected earnings of 69 cents per share and revenue of $636 million.
• Victoria’s Secret — The lingerie retailer slipped 5%. Victoria’s Secret said first-quarter revenue will range from $1.30 billion to $1.33 billion, while analysts polled by LESG sought $1.39 billion. Fourth-quarter revenue beat expectations, however.

For more, read here.

— Pia Singh

Stock futures open little changed on Wednesday

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline shortly after 6 p.m. ET. S&P 500 futures shed 0.01%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.2%.

— Pia Singh