US pre-open: Futures slightly lower as tariff headlines remain in focus
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Tuesday 04 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Tuesday as the effects of the new White House administration's tariffs on a number of its closest trading partners continued to be seen.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.20%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.12% and 0.01% softer, respectively.
The Dow closed 122.75 points lower on Monday as Donald Trump signed an order over the weekend to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, plus a 10% levy on China.
Sentiment got a boost late on Monday after Trump said the duty on Mexican goods would be paused for a month and later agreed to halt the implementation of tariffs against Canada for at least 30 days.
China, however, slapped tariffs of up to 15% on US imports of coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% higher duties on crude oil, farm equipment and selected cars, with effect from 10 February. It also vowed to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.
Trump also indicated over that the UK and the European Union were next up for a fresh round of tariffs, stating that both were "out of line". While he noted that a deal could possibly be "worked out" with the UK, he stated that EU tariffs "will definitely happen".
In the corporate space, shares in music streaming giant Spotify were up double-digits ahead of the bell on Tuesday after its Q4 earnings beat revenue expectations and it reported its first full-year profit, while PepsiCo fell short of estimates with its latest quarterly revenue performance, and Estee Lauder said Q2 gross profits had fallen 2% on the back of a 6% decline in net sales.
Still to come, Google parent company Alphabet was slated to report earnings after the close.
On the macro front, December factory order numbers and JOLTs job opening figures will be released at 1500 GMT.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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