US stock futures slip over trade policy uncertainty

by Andre Janse van Vuuren and Indy Scholtens

US equity futures dipped amid uncertainty over the Trump administration’s trade policies as traders awaited a fresh catalyst for the next leg up in US stocks.

S&P 500 contracts edged 0.1% lower after the benchmark closed just shy of an all-time high. Europe’s Stoxx 600 climbed 0.6%, extending its advance for a fourth straight session, the longest winning streak in more than a month. Asian equities also posted gains.

Tariff headlines focused on country specific levies and copper have so far done little to derail a rebound that pushed US stocks to record highs. Signs of continued economic strength, confidence in the upcoming earnings season and optimism for artificial intelligence have given traders the conviction to drive equities higher, even as doubts over trade policy persist.

“The market’s sensitivity toward tariffs has diminished,” said Marija Veitmane, senior multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets. “The key driver of equity returns for us has been and remain corporate earnings, particularly in the IT sector, and here policy and trade uncertainty have not caused too much damage.”

US President Donald Trump issued a fresh batch of tariff demands on Wednesday, including a 50% rate on Brazil that sent the real tumbling. He also confirmed that the US would begin levying a 50% tariff on copper imports next month.

LME copper rose 0.4%, snapping a five-day losing streak. The metal gained 2.1% in New York, extending an advance to more than 11% since Monday, the day before Trump first floated the size of the tariff.

Nvidia Corp. edged 0.5% higher in premarket trading after the chipmaker’s valuation briefly touched $4 trillion on Wednesday amid a broader rally in big tech stocks. Tesla Inc. gained 0.8%.

Investors should consider using market dips as opportunities to add to risk positions, noted Mohit Kumar, chief European strategist at Jefferies International.

“Tariffs do cause volatility and uncertainty but should not have much of a market impact medium term,” he said. “Our base case remains a grind higher in risky assets.”

US Treasuries resumed their decline after Wednesday’s rebound, with the 10-year yield rising one basis point to 4.35%. The dollar was little changed.

Corporate Highlights:

• Blackstone Inc. has signed a private credit partnership with Legal & General Group Plc that the two firms aim to grow to up to $20 billion over the next five years, according to a Blackstone spokesperson.
• Ferrero International SA, the Italian family-owned company known for its signature gold foil-wrapped chocolates, is close to acquiring cereal producer WK Kellogg Co. for about $3 billion, Bloomberg News has reported.
• WPP Plc has named Microsoft Corp. executive Cindy Rose as its next chief executive officer, replacing Mark Read, as the advertising group looks for ways to restart sales growth and win new customers.
• Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI is rolling out Grok 4 just months after releasing its previous iteration, underscoring the frenetic pace of AI development.
• NTT Inc. sold $17.7 billion of dollar and euro bonds on Wednesday, marking the biggest-ever offering by an Asian corporate in the global debt market.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.6% as of 9:44 a.m. London time
• S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%
• Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.2%
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 0.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed
• The euro was little changed at $1.1728
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 146.39 per dollar
• The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1799 per dollar
• The British pound rose 0.1% to $1.3606

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $111,423.79
• Ether rose 2% to $2,793.3

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.35%
• Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.67%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.59%

Commodities

• Brent crude fell 0.3% to $69.98 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 0.4% to $3,325.35 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

Copyright Bloomberg News