(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures paused on Friday, as investors awaited more clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff plans following robust gains in the last sessions, with all three benchmark stock indexes set for strong weekly gains.
Trump tasked his economics team on Thursday with devising plans for reciprocal tariffs on every country taxing U.S. imports, though the directive stopped short of imposing fresh tariffs.
“The reaction to the reciprocal tariffs overnight was muted and suggests that investors have moved on, at least temporarily, from trade until the next set of data surprises on inflation or economic confidence,” analysts at Societe Generale said in a note.
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, said the administration would address each affected country one by one and said studies on the issue would be completed by April 1.
Wall Street’s main indexes ended higher in the last session, as gains in Nvidia, Apple and Tesla boosted the S&P 500 more than 1% higher.
Stocks also got a boost after data showed U.S. producer prices increased in January, while key elements in the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, a measure closely tracked by the U.S. Federal Reserve, were benign or lower.
Traders are fully pricing in at least one 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the end of the year, with an over 33% chance of an additional such reduction, as per data complied by LSEG.
At 4:38 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 28 points, or 0.06%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 24.5 points, or 0.11%.
On Friday, the January retail sales figure – a crucial metric in gauging the state of the consumer – will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Comments from Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan would also be awaited later in the day.
All three major indexes are set for robust weekly gains, with the S&P 500 currently sitting about 0.2% away from its all-time highest level hit three weeks ago.
Vaccine maker Moderna is one of the prominent companies reporting earnings before the bell on Friday.
Fourth-quarter earnings are estimated to grow 15.2%, compared to 11.6% growth projected at the start of the month, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Tesla led gains amongst megacap and growth stocks in premarket trading, adding 2% after hitting an 11-week low earlier this week.
Airbnb jumped 14% after the vacation home rentals company posted higher quarterly revenue.
DaVita dropped 10.1% after the dialysis firm projected annual profit below estimates. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway also sold some of its shares in the company.
Applied Materials shed 4.8% as the chipmaking equipment maker forecast second-quarter revenue below estimates.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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