Stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open on Wednesday after a sluggish start to the week amid uncertainty about U.S. trade policy.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were each up 0.2% in recent trading. The benchmark S&P 500 has fallen for two straight days after hitting a series of record highs last week, as investors have digested a flurry of headlines on tariffs.
President Donald Trump sent letters this week to more than a dozen countries, including Japan and South Korea, informing them of the tariff rates that will be imposed at the start of August if those nations don’t reduce trade barriers. Trump also signed an executive order extending the deadline for hefty “reciprocal” tariffs to be imposed on countries around the world to Aug. 1, rather than today. News of the extension has mitigated concerns about the immediate impact of a big increase in tariffs—analysts say the trade levies will spark inflation and hurt economic growth—but also extends for several weeks the uncertainty about where trade policy will land.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which have paced the recent rally, were mostly higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday, though the moves were modest. Nvidia (NVDA) was up about 0.5%, as the AI chip giant moves closer to becoming the first company to ever have a market value of $4 trillion. Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) also edged higher, while chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO) was down slightly.
Among other noteworthy movers, shares of metals miner Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) were up more than 2% in premarket trading, adding to yesterday’s strong gains following Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will likely impose 50% tariffs on copper imports.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on a wide array of consumer and business loans, was at 4.41% this morning, down from 4.42% at yesterday’s close.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.2% to 97.70, posting slight gains for the third straight day after hitting its lowest level since early 2022 last week.
Bitcoin was at $109,400, up from an overnight low of $108,300 and moving closer to its all-time high of around $112,000, which was set in late May.
Gold futures were down 0.6% at $3,295 an ounce, losing ground for the third straight day, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 0.3% to $68.55 per barrel, trading at their highest level in more than two weeks.