US stock futures slipped into the red on Wednesday as investors looked to President Trump’s latest comments for more clarity on the scope of looming tariffs.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) shed 0.2%, following a third day of gains for the benchmark index. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) also fell roughly 0.2%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) stumbled 0.3%.
Stocks are on shifting sands as markets respond to changes in tone from Trump on coming tariffs. The major gauges rallied after Trump indicated on Friday and then again on Monday that he might be “flexible” or offer countries “breaks” in reciprocal duties set to take effect on April 2.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
But Trump told Newsmax on Tuesday that he “doesn’t want to have too many exceptions” to the levies — a return to the hard line seen earlier in March. Those threats directed at the EU and Canada fueled a sell-off that pushed the S&P 500 into correction territory.
As of 6:57:19 AM EDT. Market Open.
YM=F ES=F NQ=F
Meanwhile, the White House appears to be accelerating its plans for copper levies. Tariffs on copper imports could be coming within several weeks, months ahead of a deadline for implementing the measures, Bloomberg reported. Copper (HG=F) prices surged to a record on the heels of the news.
In corporates, GameStop (GME) stock jumped around 12% in premarket, after the video game retailer’s approval of a plan to buy bitcoin (BTC-USD) with its cash holdings.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares popped almost 5% following a Wall Street Journal report that the retailer is nearing a sale of its Family Dollar business for around $1 billion. The company is scheduled to report quarterly results before the bell on Wednesday.
Retailers have become especially jittery about upcoming tariffs amid diving consumer sentiment, with some companies slashing their outlooks and others warning of supply issues.
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