Trump tariffs and interest rates flatten US stock futures

U.S. stock index futures moved little in holiday-thinned trade on Sunday evening, amid persistent caution over U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans for trade tariffs and signs of sticky inflation. 

Futures steadied after a mixed session on Wall Street on Friday, where the S&P 500 ended just below record highs amid sustained gains in technology stocks. But most other sectors lagged.

Focus this week is now on a slew of Federal Reserve speakers, as well as the minutes of the central bank’s January meeting, where it kept interest rates steady. Strong inflation readings from last week kept investors anticipating no near-term cuts in interest rates. 

S&P 500 Futures rose slightly to 6,135.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.1% to 22,212.50 points by 19:25 ET (00:25 GMT). Dow Jones Futures steadied at 44, 646.0 points. 

Trading volumes were muted, with U.S. markets set to remain closed for a holiday on Monday. 

Trump tariff caution persists 

Investors remained on edge over more tariff action under Trump, who last week imposed 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum.

Trump also signed an executive order outlining plans for reciprocal tariffs against U.S. trading partners, which could ramp up a global trade war. Trump had earlier this month also imposed 10% tariffs against China.

Still, Trump said that his reciprocal tariffs will only be imposed by April, offering markets some relief. 

The S&P 500 ended flat at 6,114.63 points on Friday, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.4% to 20,026.77 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 44,546.08 points. 

Fed comments in focus after mixed inflation cues 

A slew of Fed officials are set to speak this week, starting with Federal Open Market Committee members Patrick Harker and Michelle Bowman on Monday.

Their comments come after somewhat mixed inflation readings from last week. While consumer and producer inflation read more than expected for January, certain components of the two- which factor into PCE price index inflation- softened slightly.

This drove up hopes that PCE inflation- which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge- was cooling, and could eventually fall within the central bank’s 2% annual target.