U.S. stock futures fell in choppy trading, as investors assessed the possibility of U.S. officials easing tariffs on Chinese imports.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.6% Tuesday to start the trading week after the U.S. stock and bond markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. Contracts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5% and futures for the tech-focused Nasdaq-100 declined 0.7%.
VIX, VIXmain rose 5.13% and 1.52% separately; Gold rose 0.11% and reached $1803.5; BZmain jumped 0.34% while CLmain stayed flat.
The U.S. stock market kicked off July trading on a positive note Friday, but investors say they are bracing for more pain ahead this year. Traders continue to remain focused on stubborn inflation that has forced central banks around the world to aggressively tighten monetary policy. Economic data showing sharp declines in metrics ranging from factory output to retail spending have exacerbated concerns that the U.S. economy could tumble into a recession.
On Tuesday, however, investors were focused on reports that President Biden is expected to roll back some tariffs on Chinese imports as the administration seeks to rein in inflation—news that initially sent stock futures rising Tuesday morning. But futures gave up gains and turned negative as trading continued.
“The market is desperate for good news,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. But, he said, it has become increasingly difficult to offset investors’ growing fears about the outlook for the U.S. economy. Even with the possibility of a rollback of tariffs on the horizon, he said, investors are asking: “How is going to solve the two key issues we have, which is mounting recession fears and strong inflation?”
Economists say removing Chinese tariffs isn’t likely to have a dramatic impact on inflation. And any rollback may not mark a fundamental change in the countries’ economic outlooks, some investors said.
“The size of the tariff reduction may not fundamentally change the U.S. inflation or China export outlooks,” said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Société Générale. Investors might be focused on other tensions between the two countries, such as export and investment restrictions, he added.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.891% from 2.901% Friday, also reversing gains notched earlier in the session.
In premarket trading in New York, energy stocks climbed, boosted by a slight rise in Brent crude, which rose 0.1% to $113.63 a barrel. Exxon Mobil gained 1.7% and Exelon rose 2.1%.
In contrast, shares of Tesla fell 0.9% after the electric-car maker said Saturday that its vehicle deliveries fell quarter-over-quarter for the first time in more than two years after the company had to temporarily shut down its largest factory, in Shanghai, because of local Covid-19 restrictions.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.4%. Shares of Uniper SE, one of Europe’s largest utility companies, rose 5.7% as it continues bailout talks with the German government amid strains from dwindling natural-gas supplies from Russia. The company said Monday that regional authorities in Germany have approved the construction of a liquefied natural gas terminal on the North Sea coast, as the country seeks to curb its dependence on Russian gas.
In Asia, trading was mixed. Stocks in China were little changed even after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a video call late Monday U.S. time. The benchmark Shanghai Composite reversed early losses to end roughly flat, while the CSI 300 index of the largest stocks listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen slipped 0.1%.
In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index added 0.1% by late afternoon. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 1%.