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Futures up: Dow 0.2%, S&P 500 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.44%
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Big banks including JPMorgan ( JPM ) to report earnings later in
the day
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Beijing increases tariffs on US imports to 125%
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal
April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures swung
between gains and losses on Friday after China increased its
tariffs on U.S. imports to 125% in the latest escalation of the
ongoing trade war, with markets keenly awaiting bank earnings
later in the day.
China's move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on
Thursday ramped up pressure on the country by lifting tariffs to
an effective rate of 145%, even as he announced a 90-day tariff
reprieve on most trading partners.
Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride in response to
tariff announcements in the past few days. Wall Street fell for
four straight sessions, before bouncing back on Wednesday with
the S&P 500 seeing its largest one-day percentage jump
since October 2008.
Stocks, however, slumped again on Thursday and were more
than 7% off from levels seen before last week, when Trump's
"reciprocal" tariffs sparked the market rout.
"The significant tariffs on China will cause economic
disruption if they remain in place ... while downside risks do
remain, we believe the risk of a more severe economic downturn
is now more limited," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at
UBS Global Wealth Management said.
Later in the day, big banks such as JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ),
Morgan Stanley ( MS ), Wells Fargo ( WFC ) and asset manager
BlackRock ( BLK ) are scheduled to report results before markets
open.
Investors focus will likely shift from profits to bank
bosses' remarks on the economy amid worries that Trump's tariffs
could hamper global growth and stoke inflation.
At 05:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 78 points, or
0.2%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 18.5 points, or 0.35%, and
Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 81.5 points, or 0.44%.
Most megacap and growth stocks edged higher after initial
losses in premarket trade, with Apple ( AAPL ), Nvidia ( NVDA )
and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) all marginally higher.
Investors fled to traditional safe-haven assets such as gold
, which jumped to a record high. Safe-haven currencies
such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc also
strengthened against the dollar.
The rally in the precious metal lifted gold miners, with
Newmont ( NEM ) and U.S.-listed shares of Barrick Gold ( GOLD )
rising 3.5% and 2.8%, respectively.
Treasury yields remained elevated after a steep bond selloff
earlier this week. The yield on the 10-year note was
at 4.38%, hovering near its February highs.
At least three Fed officials, including New York Fed
President John Williams, are scheduled to speak throughout the
day.
Traders currently expect more than 90 basis points of
interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, starting in
June, according to LSEG data.