US stocks fell before the bell on Friday, abandoning an earlier comeback bid after China struck back at President Trump’s trade offensive by hiking its US tariff rate, further stoking fears of direct trade war.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) were both down 0.4%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) also dropped 0.4%, as all three gauges reversed course on earlier premarket gains.
China said Friday it will raise duties on imports of US goods to 125%, compared with the 84% previously planned, effective Saturday. The move is in direct response to President Trump’s ballooning “reciprocal” tariffs on China, the commerce ministry said, but suggested it will “ignore” any retaliatory US hikes in duties.
As of 5:37:08 AM EDT. Market Open.
ES=F NQ=F YM=F
Trump’s fast-moving tariff policy has whiplashed stocks this week, which saw the major US indexes notch historic gains during Wednesday’s session but then tank on Thursday.
That rout came as initial optimism for President Trump’s 90-day “pause” on most reciprocal tariffs gave way to concern about escalation in his trade war with China. The tumble was spurred by news the White House had actually hiked tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%, not the 125% originally suggested.
Read more: Live updates on Trump tariffs fallout
Despite that, the major indexes are positioned for their best week in months, largely on the back of the mid-week surge. That, of course, could all be upended by whatever Friday has to bring to the discussion.
Investors will get the March reading on the Producer Price Index later in the day, providing another piece of the pre-tariff inflation puzzle. Given the market’s all-consuming focus on US trade policy, the wholesale inflation reading could be overshadowed as a catalyst, as with this week’s Consumer Price Index print.
First quarter earnings season begins in earnest on Friday with results from big banks such as JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Morgan Stanley (MS). Those earnings will be closely studied for any broad signs of consumer fallout amid the tariff turmoil.
Meanwhile, investors have fled the US dollar (DX=F) in search of safe-haven assets like the Swiss franc and the yen, while gold (GC=F) has continued a record-breaking rally to top $3,200 per ounce.
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