Stock market today: S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq futures waver as investors weigh Trump's auto tariffs
US stock futures struggled for a footing on Thursday after President Trump pushed ahead with hefty new tariffs on car imports, stoking concerns about a potential full-on trade war and global economic harm.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) ticked up 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) traded broadly flat. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed on the heels of a losing day for the major gauges.
Trump signed an executive order placing the 25% tariffs on foreign-made autos on Wednesday, to begin April 2, the same day that reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect. Stocks fell in anticipation of the announcement, seen as a return to a hardline stance likely to provoke retaliatory measures.
Adding more fuel to fears, Trump said on Thursday that tariffs “far larger than currently planned” will be imposed on Canada and the EU if they work together to “do economic harm” to the US. Both key US trading partners have responded sharply to the new duties.
42,843.00
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+(0.23%)
As of 5:52:34 AM EDT. Market Open.
YM=F ES=F NQ=F
Investors remain worried that the US economy could slide into recession if Trump’s new levies exacerbate sticky inflation and slowing economic growth. The final reading of fourth quarter GDP is due on Thursday, as are updates on personal consumption and weekly jobless claims.
That lays the ground for Friday’s release of February’s Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell recently reassured markets that rising prices from Trump’s tariffs are expected to be “transitory”. But that stance has raised questions, including from St. Louis Fed president Alberto Musalem.
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