Stock futures were pointing to losses Tuesday, as investors struggled to make up their minds about how disruptive U.S. President Donald Trump’s looming tariffs will be.
Reports saying the White House was planning to narrow the levies it imposes on April 2 had boosted equities at the start of this week, but the market remains on edge after nearly two months of Trump chopping and changing his trade policies.
“I still favour fading equity rallies in the short term,” Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown said. “Uncertainty on the trade front is set to remain elevated for some time to come, with April 2 more likely to mark the start, than the end, of this long-running tariff saga.”
Consumer confidence data due later from the Conference Board could help capture the mood, with FactSet consensus estimates suggesting the monthly survey will show faith in the economy weakening in March.
Having rallied Monday, the three blue-chip U.S. indexes looked set to give up some gains. Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 77 basis points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were also down 0.2%.
Bond yields were roughly flat, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note at 4.349%. The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against 16 other currencies, ticked up 0.1%.
