Dow Futures were slightly in the red early Tuesday as traders stayed on the sidelines ahead of US inflation numbers and the first wave of quarterly results from major banks.
There’s a fair amount of nervous energy in the market, with fresh concerns about tariffs resurfacing and adding to the overall sense of unease.
Tech stocks offered a bit of relief, especially after news broke that Nvidia plans to restart some chip sales to China, a move that helped lift the Nasdaq and S&P 500.
Still, the Dow Futures struggled to keep pace, weighed down by broader worries around policy direction and the health of the economy.
US President Donald Trump’s threat to slap new tariffs on imports from the EU, Mexico, and Russia has put markets on edge, adding another layer of sensitivity around policy headlines.
With fresh duties likely to feed into consumer prices, traders are watching closely to see how the latest CPI report reflects the impact.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens today
1. Nvidia was on the move in premarket trading Tuesday, climbing sharply after getting the go-ahead from US regulators to resume some AI chip sales to China.
The decision comes months after tighter export controls rattled the sector and signals a potential softening in the US stance.
Investors took it as a positive sign, not just for Nvidia, but for the broader tech space. Nasdaq 100 futures rose about 0.5%, with chip stocks leading the charge.
2. Traders are zeroed in on the June Consumer Price Index, set to drop before the opening bell.
Forecasts put headline inflation at 2.7% year-over-year, a modest pickup that’s being partly attributed to the latest round of tariffs announced by President Trump.
A hotter-than-expected reading could shift the market’s outlook on where the Fed goes next.
3. JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup are set to report their numbers this morning, marking the unofficial start of the second-quarter earnings season.
Beyond the headline figures, investors will be listening closely for any color on how tariffs and trade uncertainty have been weighing on the banks’ bottom lines and whether executives see things settling down in the back half of 2025.
4. US President Donald Trump’s threats of new tariffs on US trading partners, including potential measures against Russia, the EU, and Mexico, continue to unsettle markets.
While traders have largely discounted these as part of ongoing negotiations, the moves are expected to influence both earnings outlooks and Federal Reserve rate decisions in the weeks ahead.
5. Global markets leaned positive on Tuesday, with most major Asian indexes posting gains as investors brushed off the latest round of US tariff threats, viewing them as more noise in the ongoing trade talks.
Japan’s Nikkei added 0.55%, the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.41%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.57%.
The one outlier was China’s Shanghai Composite, which ended the day slightly in the red.
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