U.S. stock futures wavered on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump’s revived threats and potential toughening of China curbs weighed on market optimism and the chances of interest-rate cuts. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 wobbled around the flatline following Monday’s movements. S&P 500 futures edged 0.1% higher, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed up around 0.2%.
The biggest move in markets early Tuesday came from the cryptocurrency markets, where the price of bitcoin tumbled below $90,000 for the first time since November. Bitcoin touched a low closer to $86,000 in the early morning hours, its lowest since Nov. 15.
The price of ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell as much as 10% to below $2,400 early Tuesday. Crypto-related stocks, including Coinbase and MicroStrategy, were also under pressure early Tuesday. Trump’s signal that his trade overhaul isn’t over has unsettled markets already wondering about the impact on growth prospects.
Investors are parsing his brief comment regarding tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield pushed toward 4.3%, amid growing belief that tariffs will weaken the US economy. This development prompted traders to bump up bets on interest-rate cuts.
At the same time, the administration is said to be limiting investments between the US and China’s top trading partners following Trump’s directive. AI chip giant Nvidia’s stock was in focus with its highly anticipated earnings report. The company is already facing headwinds from tariffs and export controls.
In other earnings news, Home Depot’s fourth-quarter revenue came into the spotlight as Wall Street awaits fresh US consumer confidence data on Tuesday morning after downbeat readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations last week. In legal news, online learning pioneer Chegg Inc. is taking Alphabet Inc.
to court, accusing Google’s AI Overviews product of gutting its web traffic and forcing a strategic business review. Once a go-to for students needing homework help, Chegg claims Google’s AI tools are siphoning users away by repurposing its content while keeping them within Google’s ecosystem.
Markets react to Trump trade threats
The impact has been significant, with Chegg’s stock tumbling 22% in pre-market trading on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Home Depot stock edged lower in premarket trading after the home improvement retailer missed Wall Street’s earnings estimates. Home Depot’s same-store sales growth turned positive after eight straight quarters of declines.
While concerns about US economic growth persist, Warren Buffett’s backing of Japanese trading firms is garnering attention. Shares in companies like Mitsubishi and Marubeni jumped in Tokyo on Tuesday after Berkshire Hathaway revealed plans to increase its holdings. Itochu and Sumitomo also booked their strongest gains since last year following Buffett’s bet.
Chinese tech stocks experienced volatility as mainland investors helped reduce losses caused by concerns over US President Donald Trump’s decision to restrict investments between America and China. U.S. stock futures were mixed early Tuesday following a weak trading session on Monday, primarily due to a decline in tech stocks. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were up 0.09% and 0.04%, respectively, at 3:22 a.m. EST on February 25, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.12%.
On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively, marking their third consecutive day of losses. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a small gain of less than 0.1%. Investors are now focusing on the release of February’s Consumer Confidence report today, due to rising economic concerns.
The Conference Board consumer confidence index is expected to decline to 103 in February from 104.1 in January and 109.5 in December. Several companies will release their earnings reports today, including Lucid Group, AMC Entertainment, and American Tower. Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down, floating near 4.342%.
WTI crude oil futures are trending higher, hovering near $70.82 per barrel as of the last check. Asia-Pacific indices were in the red today due to concerns that tariff plans and investment restrictions between the U.S. and China will impact global economic growth. Notably, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 1.36%.
Further, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices were down 0.8% and 1.17%, respectively. Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices also closed lower by 1.39% and 0.43%, respectively.
Image Credits: Photo by History in HD on Unsplash
