Stock futures moved sharply lower Friday morning as investors reacted to news that the U.S. plans to impose higher tariffs on dozens of countries.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were down 0.9% in recent trading, while Nasdaq futures slid 1%. The S&P 500 is coming off of three straight sessions of modest declines, following a six-day stretch of record highs for the benchmark index. Despite the recent slump, the S&P 500 posted solid gains in July for the third consecutive month amid investor optimism about strong corporate earnings and economic data.
The announcement of the higher tariffs, which were unveiled in an executive order from President Donald Trump late Thursday, revived concerns about the impact that the import levies could have on the U.S. economy. Those concerns had subsided in recent weeks as the White House negotiated deals with several leading trade partners, but the latest news brings back some of the uncertainty that roiled markets when Trump first announced the so-called reciprocal tariffs in early April.
Investors are also bracing for the July jobs report, which is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists estimate that U.S. employers added 100,000 jobs last month, which would be the slowest growth in hiring since last October, and that the unemployment rate inched higher to 4.2%. The Federal Reserve will be watching the numbers closely as it considers its next move on interest rates, after the central bank earlier this week decided to leave its key rate unchanged as it awaits more data that shows how tariffs are affecting the economy.
Mega-cap technology stocks were mostly lower this morning at the end of a busy week of quarterly earnings reports for Big Tech. Amazon (AMZN) shares dropped 8% in premarket trading despite releasing better-than-expected results late Thursday, while Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG) and Broadcom (AVGO) each declined about 2%, and Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) each slipped less than 1%. Apple (AAPL) shares were up 2% after the iPhone maker reported strong earnings after yesterday’s closing bell, while Microsoft (MSFT) added 1%.
Among other post-earnings movers on Friday, shares of Coinbase Global (COIN) plunged 11% ahead of the opening bell after the cryptocurrency exchange reported earnings that fell short of Wall Street expectations. Reddit (RDDT) shares jumped 14% after the online discussion forum reported strong revenue and issued rosy guidance. Oil majors Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chveron (CVX) were both slightly higher after releasing their results this morning.
Bitcoin was at $115,200 recently, down from near $119,000 Thursday afternoon and trading at a three-week low.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.2% at $100.12, trading at its highest levels since mid-May.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, was at 4.40% this morning, up from 4.36% at yesterday’s close.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, slid 0.7% to $68.75 per barrel, losing ground for the second straight day after hitting a five-week high on Wednesday. Gold futures were little changed at $3,350 an ounce.