US stock futures fell on Wednesday after Nvidia (NVDA) revealed costly new curbs on chip exports to China, and investors grappled with uncertainty over President Trump’s trade policy.
Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) slumped 0.8%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) sank 1.4%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) plummeted 2.2%.
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A new filing from Nvidia on Tuesday showed that the US government has required licenses for exports to China of the company’s H20 artificial intelligence chip. The chip giant said the move would result in $5.5 billion in charges to the company, causing its shares to plummet in after-hours trading.
Earlier in the day on Tuesday, US stocks lost steam, drifting lower after a brief rally as the trajectory of Trump’s trade policy continues to perplex Wall Street.
Tariffs on key imports remain up in the air. Exemptions from auto duties are reportedly under consideration, while the ultimate fate of recently paused tariffs on consumer electronics is unknown. At the same time, the Trump administration is setting the stage for new levies on pharmaceutical and semiconductor imports, as well as critical minerals.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
The future of tariffs affecting US trading partners is similarly murky. The president has touted ongoing negotiations with countries, other than China, since instituting a 90 day pause on most ‘reciprocal’ tariffs last week.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett said he expects to see “substantial clarity” on tariffs with major US trading partners, excluding China, before Trump’s 90 day pause concludes.
“Once we reach a level that we’ve agreed on and they’ve agreed to lower their tariffs, lower their non tariff barriers, currency manipulation, and subsidies of industry and labor, then I think we can move forward,” Bessett said.
On Wednesday, investors will be watching for new data from the Census Bureau on retail sales as warnings of an economic slowdown pile up on Wall Street.
In commodities, gold (GC=F) has reached a new record as the escalating trade war between the US and China pushes investors towards safe havens. Bullion pushed past $3,275 an ounce for the first time late Tuesday evening after gaining 1.4% throughout the day.
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Asian indexes slump as Nvidia chip restriction makes impact
Asian markets slid late Tuesday into early Wednesday morning as tech stock across the region slumped. New US restrictions on Nvidia chip exports into China shook investor confidence as plunging values dragged major indexes down.
Reuters reports:
On Wednesday, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (9010.HK) fell 1.4%, snapping a four-day winning streak. Japan’s Nikkei (^N225) dropped 1.6%.
Chinese blue chips fell 0.7% as investors failed to find much solace in some solid GDP data that predated the tariff increases in April. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (^HSI) slumped 2.7%.
“Both countries seem to believe they have the upper hand, potentially prolonging the current stalemate for months to come,” said analysts at PGIM Fixed Income in a note to clients.
“China appears to have no intention of climbing down from its current stance on tariffs and instead views the current trade dynamics as an opportunity to make inroads with countries that export to the U.S.”
Read more here.
Gold rises to record high as Trump’s trade war pushes havens higher
Gold (GC=F) reached a record high following US President Donald Trump’s refusal to begin negotiations with China in the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. As global markets are rattled by the economic push and pull, gold continues to be pushed higher as demand for safe havens drives investors toward the precious metal.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
Trending tickers in after-hours trading
Nvidia Corporation (NVDA)
Stock in the beleaguered megacap AI chip maker Nvidia has taken another hit in after-hours trading following the news that the US government has restricted the exports of H20 chips to China. The market is a huge buyer of Nvidia products with the reduction leading to a $5.5 billion hit to the company’s bottom line.
Nvidia dropped over 6% in extended trading.
United Airlines Holdings, Inc (UAL)
United Airlines stock soared after beating Q1 revenue expectations in an early report for the major airline. Earnings estimates sit at $0.91 a share with the company declaring comfortable profit in a rocky sector as airlines have taken a hit during the start to the year. United have promised ‘aggressive’ investment in growth leading to a positive uptick in investor sentiment.
Shares popped 6.7% in after-hours trading.
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (IBKR)
Shares in multinational brokerage firm Interactive Brokers sank in extended trading after the company missed earnings estimates in Q1 reports. The stock value dropped on after-hours open and continued to sink throughout the trading period, plunging 9.8%.
