Stock futures are higher Wednesday after President Donald Trump’s top trade official said a compromise is possible on recently implemented tariffs against Canada and Mexico.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were each up 0.2% about 90 minutes before the opening bell, while those linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.4%. The major indexes are coming off of two straight days of steep losses amid concerns about the potential impact of the tariffs and broader worries about the health of the U.S. economy,
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said during an interview with Fox Business late Tuesday that Trump had been in discussions with officials from Mexico and Canada, and that the White House would likely announce an agreement with the countries that meets them “in the middle.” The U.S. early Tuesday imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, while doubling the levy on Chinese imports to 20%.
The comments from Lutnick came as Trump, during a speech to Congress, defended tariffs as a critical measure to create jobs and generate revenue. Critics say the trade measures will spark inflation, disrupt economic activity and harm businesses that do business around the world, especially as other countries take retaliatory steps.
Shares of automakers, which stand to be particularly hard hit by tariffs, were gaining ground in premarket trading Wednesday. Shares of General Motors (GM) were up nearly 4%, while Jeep and Chrysler maker Stellantis (STLA) and Toyota Motor (TM) each jumped more than 5%.
Mega-cap technology stocks were up across the board this morning, let by a near-2% gain for chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO), which is scheduled to release quarterly results after tomorrow’s closing bell. AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and EV maker Tesla (TSLA), which has lost a third of its value since the start of the year, were both up 1.5%. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) also moved higher.
Shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD) were down 8% ahead of the bell after the cybersecurity provider released quarterly results late yesterday that came in below analysts’ expectations.
Investors will be keeping a close eye on economic data this morning, including private sector employment numbers from ADP and reports on services sector activity. The big data point of the week comes Friday morning, when the February jobs report is slated for release.
The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which fell to its lowest level since December on Tuesday amid mounting investor concerns about the economy, was at 4.26% in recent trading, up from 4.21% at Tuesday’s close.
Bitcoin was trading at $90,300, up from an overnight low of $86,300. Gold futures were up 0.3% at $2,930 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures dropped 2% to $66.90 per barrel.