Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures rise after Trump backpedals on tariffs
US stock futures rose on Thursday as investors breathed a sigh of relief that President Trump has called off his threatened tariffs on European allies over his pursuit of Greenland.
Tech led the advance, with a gain of 0.9% for contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F). S&P 500 futures (ES=F) moved up 0.6%, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) added 0.3% on the heels of Wall Street’s sharp rally Wednesday.
Stocks are climbing after Trump hit pause on the 10% tariffs planned for eight NATO members in February, soothing the concerns that weighed on Wall Street earlier in the week. But investors remain on alert, as the EU and US are still at odds over who will control Greenland.
Trump said he had drawn up a “framework of a future deal” with NATO’s leader for the Arctic island, which the US wants to purchase. But Denmark’s prime minister stressed Thursday that the sovereignty of its territory is not up for discussion.
Beyond trade and geopolitics, investors are bracing for Intel (INTC) to lead out Big Tech earnings when it reports quarterly results after the bell on Thursday. AI spending by the likes of Meta (META) and a global memory shortage will be in focus as the chipmaker attempts a turnaround. Procter & Gamble (PG) and GE Aerospace (GE) are among the crowd of companies also on the earnings docket.
Elsewhere in tech, Alibaba (BABA) shares popped in premarket after Bloomberg reported the Chinese company is planning an IPO for its AI chipmaking unit, T-Head. The debut would tap interest in potential rivals to Nvidia (NVDA), whose CEO Jensen Huang boosted hopes for “trillions of dollars” of AI demand at Davos.
Also ahead is a shutdown-delayed report on the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, the PCE price index. The reading for November and October could help set expectations for interest-rate cuts this year, as could updates on weekly jobless claims and third quarter GDP also due later.
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