07:32 AM EDT, 10/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity markets were trending lower before the opening bell Thursday as traders digest Tesla's (TSLA) latest quarterly results and await earnings from other major companies.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 0.1% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.2%. The indexes finished Wednesday's trading session in the red, with the Nasdaq falling for the second straight day.

Shares of Tesla decreased 3.3% pre-bell as the electric vehicle maker's third-quarter earnings fell more than market estimates. International Business Machines ( IBM ) dropped 6.7% after the technology giant announced its third-quarter results.

T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) , Union Pacific ( UNP ) , Honeywell International ( HON ) , Blackstone (BX), Freeport-McMoran ( FCX ) , PG&E ( PCG ) , Tractor Supply ( TSCO ) , Dover (DOV), Dow (DOW), Hasbro ( HAS ) , AutoNation ( AN ) and American Airlines ( AAL ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Intel ( INTC ) , Newmont ( NEM ) , Norfolk Southern ( NSC ) and Ford Motor ( F ) post earnings after the markets close.

Treasury yields were up in premarket action, with the two-year rate increasing 2.6 basis points to 3.47% and the 10-year rate advancing 3.8 basis points to 3.99%.

President Donald Trump reportedly said Wednesday that his meeting with China's President Xi Jinping in South Korea next week is "scheduled." Trump said he expects to reach agreements with his Chinese counterpart on several issues, including soybean purchases by Beijing and limits on nuclear weapons, according to Reuters.

Earlier in the week, Trump suggested that his highly anticipated meeting with Xi Jinping may not happen. Tensions between the two countries were renewed recently after China moved to restrict exports of rare earths minerals, prompting Trump to announce additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods, effective Nov. 1.

"We're not convinced that there will be enough of a definitive 'deal' between the US and China in coming weeks to relieve traders of uncertainty on this issue," Macquarie said in a report Wednesday. "Negotiations that lead to 'deals' happen when both sides are not evenly matched, and one side relents."

The US federal government shutdown entered its 23rd day on Thursday. The shutdown is now the second-longest funding lapse in modern history, CBS News reported Wednesday.

Thursday's economic calendar has the existing home sales report for September at 10 am ET. Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is scheduled to speak at 10 am, while Fed Governor Michael Barr speaks at 10:25 am.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 5.6% to $61.73 a barrel before the open, after the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed further sanctions on two of Russia's largest oil companies, due to the country's "lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine."

Gold rose 1.5% to $4,126 per troy ounce, while bitcoin gained 1.3% to $109,510.