U.S. stock futures rose late Sunday as Wall Street received mixed messages from President Trump’s administration over the weekend about tariffs.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 0.8% and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) rose 1.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) rose 0.4%.
Trump and his top advisers created confusion over the future of U.S. tariffs on China and specific industries this weekend. On Saturday, big tech companies like Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) scored major wins (albeit temporary) as the U.S. announced smartphones, computers and other consumer electronics would be excluded from tariffs.
Then on Sunday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said those electronics would soon be included in the levies, saying those levies would be separate from those on specific countries.
Trump himself added to the mixed messaging by saying on Sunday in a lengthy social media post that there would be “no exceptions” for those products.
“We’ll be looking at semiconductors and the entire electronics supply chain in our upcoming national security tariff investigation,” he said.
The developments have Wall Street braced for another week of tariff-induced volatility. Last week, the major indexes posted their best weekly performance since at least 2023, though it was not a routine move. Stocks posted a historic rally on Wednesday, a bright spot in a volatile week, after Trump raised tariffs on China to 145% but suspended most other “reciprocal” tariffs.
Traditional “safe haven” assets have been in particular focus in recent days as long-term Treasury yields have surged and the dollar has weakened against other currencies.
Meanwhile, investors will continue to monitor corporate news this week on the initial impact of tariffs. The big banks will be in the spotlight early this week, with Goldman Sachs (GS) set to report on Monday and Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) set to report on Tuesday.
Brent crude (BZ=F) traded near $65 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) traded around $61 after a small early gain.
Trump’s punitive tariffs weighed on oil prices, with futures falling to their lowest level since 2021 last week as traders worried about their impact on global demand. OPEC+’s decision to restore production faster than expected added to market pessimism.
Meanwhile, easing tensions with Iran may offer hope for improved supply from major buyer China. Saturday’s U.S.-Iran talks in Oman were the first high-level talks since 2022 and marked a new effort by both sides to resolve a years-long standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. The two countries have agreed to meet again in a week.
Stock futures open higher
Futures tied to major stock indexes opened higher as Wall Street focused on the latest tariff developments. Temporary relief for the tech sector appeared to boost sentiment, at least initially, even as President Trump said there were no “exceptions” for the sector.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) rose 0.8%, Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) rose more than 1% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) rose 0.6%.
Related topics:
