US stock futures retreated on Tuesday as investors cautiously counted down to President Trump’s highly anticipated “Liberation Day” roll-out of sweeping new reciprocal tariffs.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) both slipped about 0.3% lower. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) fell roughly 0.2%.
While the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rebounded on Monday, it still ended a brutal March near its lows of the year. The broad benchmark wrapped up its worst first quarter in three years thanks to trade-war fears — though Wall Street sees more ingrained risks to stock performance.
Markets are still in the dark as to what Trump will announce when he unveils his plans for like-for-like tariffs on Wednesday afternoon. The president’s multiple U-turns in tariff hints have kept investors turning in circles, with stocks jumping or sinking as prospects for more limited duties ebbed and rose.
42,057.00
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(-0.48%)
As of 6:44:45 AM EDT. Market Open.
YM=F ES=F NQ=F
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
The big question is whether the US will impose a blanket reciprocal tariff on all trading partners, or will tailor the rate levied to specific countries. What is pretty certain is the effective US tariff rate is likely to reach its highest level since the 1940s, analysts say — putting pressure on a US economy already grappling with slowing growth and stubborn inflation.
A JOLTS update on February’s jobs openings due later will serve as a lead-in to Friday’s crucial monthly jobs reading. Investors are watching for signs of cracks in the labor market, which has so far shown enough resilience to ease Wall Street’s worries about recession.
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