07:23 AM EDT, 10/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were tracking in the red on Tuesday as trade tensions between the US and China reignited, while investors await the latest quarterly results from some of Wall Street's largest banks.

The S&P 500 declined 1%, the Nasdaq fell 1.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.8% in premarket activity. The indexes finished the previous trading session in the green.

China reportedly placed sanctions on five of South Korean shipbuilding firm Hanwha Ocean's US subsidiaries. The move follows the US decision to impose steep fees on Chinese ships docking at American ports, effective Tuesday, according to various media publications.

On Friday, President Donald Trump threatened China with steep tariff increases and export controls on critical software. However, in a social media post on Sunday about China, Trump said it "will all be fine." The US "wants to help China, not hurt it," he added.

"We are communicating now. I am confident that we can move forward," Fox Business reported Monday, citing US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. "Everything's on the table. I am optimistic that this can be de-escalated."

Treasury yields were down in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 4.8 basis points to 3.47% and the 10-year rate decreasing 4.6 basis points to 4.01%.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) , Wells Fargo ( WFC ) , Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and Citigroup ( C ) are some of the banking heavyweights reporting their quarterly earnings before the bell, along with Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) , BlackRock ( BLK ) Domino's Pizza (DPZ) and Albertsons ( ACI ) .

The federal government shutdown continued on Tuesday, with lawmakers deadlocked on a funding plan. The Senate is expected to hold votes on a funding plan today, according to media reports.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak at 12:20 pm ET, while Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller are expected to speak at 8:45 am and 3:25 pm, respectively. Boston Fed President Susan Collins' remarks are due at 3:30 pm.

The National Federation of Independent Business small business optimism index on Tuesday posted a 2-point decrease for September to 98.8.

Shares of Navitas Semiconductor ( NVTS ) jumped 24% pre-bell as the company unveiled a suite of new high-performance devices designed to support Nvidia's ( NVDA ) next-generation AI factory architecture. Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropped 2.2%, while Critical Metals (CRML) surged 29%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 2.2% to $58.20 a barrel before the opening bell. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Monday raised its global oil demand growth projection for 2025.

Gold edged up 0.6% to $4,157 per troy ounce, while bitcoin fell 4.4% to $110,668.