07:40 AM EDT, 10/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were tracking higher before the opening bell Monday as President Donald Trump appeared to downplay fresh trade tensions with China, while investors prepare for the start of the latest earnings season.

The S&P 500 rose 1.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1% and the Nasdaq gained 2% in premarket activity. The indexes finished Friday's trading session lower, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 recording their biggest one-day loss since April.

In a social media post on Sunday about China, Trump said it "will all be fine." Chinese President Xi Jinping "just had a bad moment," and the US "wants to help China, not hurt it," Trump said.

Trump on Friday threatened to impose additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods as well as export controls on critical software, effective Nov. 1. He also suggested that he might call off his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping in South Korea.

The US leader's warnings came after Beijing moved to restrict exports of rare earths minerals. Last week, China reportedly expanded its rare earths export restrictions to include five new elements, with stricter rules for semiconductor-related users.

"Resorting to threats of high tariffs is not the right way to engage with China," a spokesperson for the Chinese ministry of commerce reportedly said Sunday. "If the US persists in acting unilaterally, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."

Treasury yields fell in premarket action, with the two-year rate retreating 7 basis points to 3.53% and the 10-year rate dropping 8.9 basis points to 4.06%.

The federal government shutdown entered its 13th day on Monday, and is likely to delay the release of key economic data, including last month's producer prices and retail sales reports, the weekly jobless claims bulletin and import and export prices data for September. The stoppage has already delayed the release of the September jobs report.

Traders will focus on the latest quarterly results of major banks and corporate entities this week. JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) , Bank of America ( BAC ) , Wells Fargo ( WFC ) , Goldman Sachs ( GS ) , Morgan Stanley (MS) and Citigroup ( C ) are scheduled to post earnings later this week, along with Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) , ASML ( ASML ) , Abbott Laboratories ( ABT ) , American Express ( AXP ) and United Airlines (UAL).

Fastenal (FAST) is expected to report its financial statement before the bell.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anna Paulson is scheduled to speak at 12:10 pm ET.

On Friday, preliminary results from a University of Michigan survey showed that consumer sentiment in the world's largest economy was little changed in October amid persistent concerns about inflation and labor market challenges.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased 1.7% to $59.88 a barrel before the open.

Gold advanced 2.4% to $4,095 per troy ounce, while bitcoin inclined 0.5% to $114,888.