Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on Feb. 3, 2025.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
S&P 500 futures moved slightly higher on Tuesday as Wall Street tries to find stable footing following the latest developments on the global trade front.
Futures tied to the broad market index moved about 0.1% higher, and Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.2%. Meanwhile, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 61 points, or 0.1%.
The Chinese government slapped tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. imports of coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% higher duties on crude oil, farm equipment and selected cars, effective Feb. 10.
The move comes after the U.S. agreed to pause more aggressive levies on Canada and Mexico. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in a post on social media site X on Monday evening that Trump agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs against Canada for at least 30 days. Earlier on Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that duties on Mexico imports to the U.S. would also be halted for a month.
Stocks are coming off of a volatile trading session, in which the major averages made a striking turnaround after an initial global sell-off. At its session low on Monday, the 30-stock Dow fell more than 600 points, or nearly 1.5%, after Trump signed an order over the weekend to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, plus a 10% levy on China. Investor sentiment turned around on Monday afternoon, however, after Trump said the duty on Mexican goods would be would be paused.
Ultimately, the major averages ended Monday well off their lows of the day, but they still booked losses. The 30-stock Dow slipped 0.28%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.76%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2%.
“We are in a bull market fueled by a strong U.S. consumer and rising corporate profitability. Until something cracks with this narrative, I believe dips are buyable,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird. “Investors should prepare for more market volatility related to trade uncertainty, but we think the overall backdrop for investors remains quite solid.”
Mayfield thinks that China tariffs will likely remain in place as they did during the first Trump administration, but this time around, the White House views “trade as a means to exert non-trade concessions.”
On the economic front, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for December is due on Tuesday, as well as durable orders. The main event this week will be Friday’s January nonfarm payrolls report, which will add further clarity to the employment picture.
