06:56 AM EST, 02/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were pointing lower before Tuesday's opening bell as traders digest China's new tariffs against the US and await fresh labor market data.

Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.1%. The majority of Asian exchanges were tracking in the green, while most European bourses were trending downwards midday on the continent.

China on Tuesday said it plans to impose 15% tariffs on US coal and liquefied natural gas imports and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement cars and pickup trucks. The move follows President Donald Trump's announcement of a 10% additional tariff on imports from China.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for December posts at 10 am ET. The ADP Employment report for January is out on Wednesday, followed by the Challenger Job Cut report for the same month on Thursday. The government's nonfarm payroll data for last month is scheduled to be released on Friday.

Tuesday's economic calendar also has the factory orders report for December at 10 am. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is set to speak at 11 am, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks at 2 pm.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is slated to speak at 7:30 pm.

Merck ( MRK ) , Pepsico ( PEP ) , Pfizer ( PFE ) , KKR (KKR), Spotify Technology ( SPOT ) , Apollo Global Management ( APO ) , PayPal ( PYPL ) , Transdigm Group ( TDG ) , Regeneron Pharmaceuticals ( REGN ) , Centene ( CNC ) , Estee Lauder ( EL ) , Fox (FOX, FOXA) and Jacobs Solutions ( J ) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

Google ( GOOG ) parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) , Amgen ( AMGN ) and Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG ) are scheduled to post earnings after the markets close.

Shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) jumped 19% pre-bell as the software maker reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) advanced 6.7% while Spotify's ( SPOT ) US-listed stock climbed 7.5%.

Before the opening bell, bitcoin fell 2.3% to $99,353, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 1.9% to $71.80 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries inclined 3.2 basis points to 4.58% and gold nudged down 0.6% to $2,840 an ounce.