07:36 AM EDT, 06/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were tracking in the green on Wednesday as investors assess uncertainty over trade talks between Washington and Beijing following President Donald Trump's latest comments about Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% before the opening bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq edged up 0.1% each. The indexes finished Tuesday's trading session higher, with the Dow recording its fourth consecutive day of gains.

In an early Wednesday post on social media, Trump said it was "extremely hard" to make a deal with Xi Jinping. Media publications reported earlier this week that Trump and his Chinese counterpart could soon hold one-on-one talks on tariffs.

"I like President Xi of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump said in his post.

Both the US and China have accused each other of violating a preliminary trade deal reached between the two countries last month. As part of that pact, Washington and Beijing suspended most tariffs on each other's imports for 90 days.

Trump signed a proclamation on Tuesday to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50% from 25%, effective Wednesday. Duties on imports from the UK will remain at 25%, with potential changes beginning July 9, as the two countries finalize the status of their deal signed in May.

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said Tuesday that trade policy changes have begun to weigh on the US economy and warned that tariffs could hinder progress on inflation. "The US economy is still on a firm footing, but uncertainty has notably increased since the beginning of the year," according to Cook.

US Treasury yields were mixed in premarket action, with the two-year rate ticking up 0.2 basis points to 3.96% and the 10-year rate retreating 0.6 basis points to 4.45%.

The ADP Employment report for May posts at 8:15 am ET. US job openings unexpectedly increased in April, while layoffs picked up, government data showed Tuesday. The nonfarm payroll data for last month is scheduled to be released later in the week.

Wednesday's economic calendar also has the weekly mortgage applications bulletin, as well as the purchasing managers' index composite final report from S&P Global ( SPGI ) and the Institute for Supply Management's services index, both for May.

The Beige Book, a compilation of economic and business reports from the 12 regional Fed branches, is due at 2 pm. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic is slated to speak at 8:30 am.

Shares of CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) dropped 7.2% pre-bell as the cybersecurity firm's fiscal first-quarter earnings fell year over year. Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) gained 5.9% as the information technology firm raised its full-year earnings outlook at the midpoint.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) and Thor Industries ( THO ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others. MongoDB ( MDB ) , Five Below ( FIVE ) and PVH (PVH) release earnings after the markets close.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil remained unchanged at $63.42 a barrel in premarket activity. The weekly EIA domestic petroleum inventories report is out at 10:30 am.

Gold nudged 0.2% higher to $3,383 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slipped 0.5% to $105,782.