07:33 AM EDT, 06/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were tracking in the red before Thursday's opening bell amid President Donald Trump's latest tariff threat, while investors digest fresh inflation data and await last month's report on producer prices.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq decreased 0.5% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.7%. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed the previous trading session lower, snapping their three-day winning streaks, while the Dow was flat.

Trump said Wednesday that the US will send letters to trading partners in the next one or two weeks about setting unilateral tariff rates, according to Bloomberg News.

"At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out," Trump told reporters in Washington. "And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it."

After announcing sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on several countries in early April, Trump had declared a 90-day pause on certain duties for non-retaliating countries.

On Wednesday, US and Chinese officials agreed on a framework for implementing the pact the two countries reached in Switzerland last month. Trump said that China will supply rare earths upfront as part of a trade agreement that is subject to his approval and that of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

US Treasury yields moved down in premarket action, with the two-year rate falling 2.3 basis points to 3.92% and the 10-year rate retreating 3.1 basis points to 4.38%.

May's producer price index report, a measure of wholesale prices, is scheduled to be released at 8:30 am ET. The data comes a day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported consumer inflation in the world's largest economy unexpectedly decelerated last month, weighed down by lower energy prices, while annual inflation accelerated in line with Wall Street's view.

Trump said Wednesday the inflation report showed "great numbers" and that the Federal Reserve should lower its policy rate by a full percentage point. Markets are widely anticipating the central bank to leave its benchmark lending rate unchanged next week, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Thursday's economic calendar also has the weekly jobless claims bulletin and the weekly EIA natural-gas supplies report.

Shares of Oracle (ORCL) jumped 7.9% pre-bell as the cloud computing company reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. Boeing ( BA ) dropped 8% after a 787-8 aircraft operated by Air India reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad.

Software giant Adobe (ADBE) reports its latest financial results after the markets close.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 1.5% to $67.15 a barrel before the open. Commercial crude stockpiles in the US decreased more than expected last week even as propane and propylene and motor gasoline inventories increased, government data showed Wednesday.

Gold advanced 1.8% to $3,403 per troy ounce, while bitcoin slid 1.4% to $107,309.