07:26 AM EDT, 10/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were pointing lower on Tuesday as investors assess the critical minerals deal between the US and Australia and await the next wave of corporate earnings.

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq edged down 0.1% each in premarket activity. The indexes finished Monday in the green for the second consecutive trading session.

US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday signed a critical minerals framework, which aims to boost US access to the mining and processing of Australian rare earths resources, according to a statement by the White House. Both countries aim to invest more than $3 billion together in critical mineral projects over the next six months, the statement showed.

The deal comes amid renewed tensions between the US and China after Beijing recently moved to restrict exports of rare earths minerals, prompting Trump to announce additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, effective Nov. 1.

"Resource-rich nations with critical minerals should play a proactive role in safeguarding the security and stability of the industrial and supply chains, and ensure normal economic and trade cooperation," a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly said when asked about the US-Australia rare earths deal.

Trump told reporters on Monday he expects to reach a fair trade deal with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as they are likely to meet on the sidelines of an economic conference in South Korea next week, according to Reuters.

The two-year Treasury yield gained 0.6 basis points to 3.47% in premarket action, while the 10-year rate remained unchanged at 3.99%.

GE Aerospace (GE), Coca-Cola (KO), Philip Morris International ( PM ) , Danaher ( DHR ) , Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) , 3M ( MMM ) , Elevance Health ( ELV ) , General Motors ( GM ) , Halliburton ( HAL ) and Genuine Parts ( GPC ) are scheduled to report their latest financial results before the bell, among others. Streaming giant Netflix ( NFLX ) and Texas Instruments ( TXN ) post earnings after the markets close.

The ongoing federal government shutdown "is likely to end sometime this week," CNBC reported Monday, citing National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett. The stoppage entered its 21st day on Tuesday.

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is scheduled to speak at 9 am ET and later at 3:30 pm.

Shares of Amazon.com ( AMZN ) rose 0.4% pre-bell as the e-commerce giant said late Monday that all of its cloud services were operational after a technical issue in Amazon Web Services caused worldwide internet disruption. Cleveland-Cliffs ( CLF ) inclined 0.2% after closing the previous session up 21%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 0.9% to $58.05 a barrel before the opening bell. Gold declined 1.9% to $4,278 per troy ounce, while bitcoin dropped nearly 2% to $108,548.