US stock futures surged on Wednesday after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted that President Donald Trump may provide a pathway to tariff relief for Canada and Mexico as soon as Wednesday.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) jumped roughly 0.9%. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) gained 0.7%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) soared 1%.
CME – Delayed Quote • USD
As of 5:23:36 AM EST. Market Open.
Lutnick’s comments on Fox Business Network raised investor hopes that the president might reconsider broad tariffs on America’s top trading partners following the stock market’s volatile reaction to the new duties on Tuesday.
Traders received fresh signals on Trump’s next moves in the trade war and beyond after he addressed Congress Tuesday night. The President acknowledged the current state of economic discomfort by saying, “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much.”
The S&P 500 erased its post-election gains, and the Dow shed more than 650 points after Trump implemented delayed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and doubled duties on China.
The affected countries responded with countermeasures. Canada laid out tariffs on billions of dollar of US products, while China targeted US farm goods new duties from Monday. Mexico said it will lay out its retaliation on Sunday.
On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report will offer insight into private payroll growth, and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) is set to report earnings.
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Oil prices dropped for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as key producers plan to increase output in April, coupled with concerns that US tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China could slow economic growth and fuel demand, dampening investor sentiment.
Reuters reports:
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https://media.zenfs.com/en/reuters-finance.com/69036f1c1960f7877c46e14f1e2bbe65
2025-03-05 00:33:40
