financetom
Market
financetom
/
Market
/
US STOCKS-Futures inch up with focus on President Trump's trade policy
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
US STOCKS-Futures inch up with focus on President Trump's trade policy
Jan 21, 2025 5:14 AM

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

*

Apple ( AAPL ) falls after brokerage downgrade

*

Oil stocks rise after Trump to accelerate project permits

*

Nuclear power firms climb as Trump doubles down on energy

policy

*

3M ( MMM ) up after fourth-quarter profit beat

*

Futures up: Dow 0.48%, S&P 500 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.43%

(Updates with quarterly reports from 3M ( MMM ), D.R. Horton ( DHI ))

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged up in

choppy trading on Tuesday, as investors assessed newly elected

President Donald Trump's executive orders on issues including

energy and immigration, while awaiting his first move on trade

policy.

President Trump did not lay out any concrete plans on the

universal tariffs and additional surcharges on close trade

partners as expected, but said he was thinking about imposing

duties on Canadian and Mexican goods as early as Feb. 1.

While investors remain cautious, brokerage Goldman Sachs

lowered its forecast for a universal tariff this year to 25%

from about 40% seen in December.

At 07:23 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 211 points,

or 0.48%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 22 points, or 0.36%

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 91.25 points, or 0.43%.

Futures tracking the domestically focused small-cap Russell

2000 index added 0.6%.

Automakers General motors and Ford that have

supply chains spread across the continent edged up 0.8% and

1.5%. Elon Musk-led Tesla added 2% premarket trading.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies Xpeng and

Li Auto added 5.7% and 5.4%, respectively on no signs of

imminent surcharges on Chinese goods.

Markets have been sensitive to any reports on Trump's tariff

policies on concerns it could spark a global trade war and fresh

inflation pressures.

"Tariffs mean a stronger U.S. dollar due to higher import

prices and weaker global growth, no tariffs means stronger

global trade and a more robust global growth backdrop," said

Kyle Rodda, senior markets analyst at Capital.com.

"Just like the first Trump administration, the markets are

highly sensitive to headline risk, especially as it relates to

trade wars."

During the first year of Trump's first administration, the

S&P 500 rose 19.4%, while during the entirety of his

first term, the benchmark index rose nearly 68%, but saw bouts

of volatility, stemming in part from a trade war Trump fought

with China.

However, inflation is still above the Federal Reserve's 2%

target, stoking worries that Trump's policies could delay the

central bank's pace of monetary policy easing.

Economists see the Fed leaving borrowing costs unchanged

when it meets next week and traders see the first interest rate

coming in July, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Oil stocks Halliburton ( HAL ) rose 1.6% and SLB

climbed 0.7% after Trump declared a national energy emergency to

accelerate permitting oil, gas and power projects.

Prison operators Geo advanced 1.1% and CoreCivic ( CXW )

rose 2.4%, after Trump declared a national emergency on

illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexican border.

Nuclear stocks Oklo ( OKLO ) rose 5.4% and Vistra added 5.5%

as energy secretary Chris Wright said he plans to prioritize

domestic nuclear energy production.

Apple ( AAPL ) fell 2.1% after brokerage Jefferies cut its

rating on the iPhone maker to 'underperform'.

3M ( MMM ) rose 4.2% after the industrial conglomerate

posted upbeat fourth-quarter profits, while strong results from

D.R. Horton ( DHI ) sent the home-builder's shares up 3.6%.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru;

Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved