(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, steadying after the previous session’s volatility as investors assessed the impact of President Donald Trump’s protectionist tariffs on base metal imports and looked ahead to a key inflation report.
As Trump’s 25% duty on all steel and aluminum imports, which he announced last month, took effect, the European Commission said it would retaliate with counter tariffs from next month, making it the latest U.S. trade partner to be at loggerheads with the administration.
Companies such as Ford, General Motors, Howmet and Honeywell, which use steel and aluminum in their supply chains, were little changed in premarket trading.
Financial markets have been thrown into disarray, with analysts warning of capital flight from Wall Street as concerns mount that Trump’s wavering tariff policy onslaught could stoke inflation and possibly trigger a recession.
The uncertainty has also resulted in companies holding back on investments and lowering forecasts, with Delta, Kohl’s and Walmart being among the latest to do so.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq confirmed a correction last week, while the benchmark S&P 500 came close to confirming a 10% drop from its February high in the previous session.
Goldman Sachs became the first brokerage to lower its 2025-end target for the benchmark index to 6,200 from 6,500, while J.P.Morgan sees a roughly 40% recession risk, up from a 30% chance at the start of the year.
At 05:39 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 196 points, or 0.47%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 36 points, or 0.65%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 149.25 points, or 0.77%.
The Consumer Price Index figure for February, expected at 8:30 a.m. ET, will also be on the radar. Economists expect the data to point to cooling inflation from the previous month, but a hit from tariffs could reflect in upcoming reports.
Interest rate futures point to the U.S. Federal Reserve keeping borrowing costs unchanged until June at its meeting next week. However, traders expect that signs of economic weakness could force the central bank to deliver at least 75 basis points worth of interest-rate cuts by December.
Among top movers, Intel jumped 8.2% in premarket trading after a report said TSMC has pitched chip designers Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate the U.S. chip company’s factories.
Nvidia rose 1.6%, while Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom added 0.9% each.
Walmart dipped 0.7%. Chinese officials met its representatives this week to discuss media reports that the company has asked suppliers in China to slash prices to offset U.S. tariffs, state media said.
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a stopgap bill to keep federal agencies funded past Friday, giving investors breathing room.
The markets also monitored geopolitical developments after Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire with Russia.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
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