US stock futures edge lower with focus on Trump tariffs, rate cues

Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures fell slightly on Sunday evening following more warnings of trade tariffs from President-elect Donald Trump, while investors also awaited a slew of cues on interest rates this week.

Futures fell after Wall Street indexes raced to record highs on Friday, as investors cheered persistent signs of resilience in the U.S. economy. Investors also largely maintained bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in December. 

S&P 500 Futures fell 0.1% to 6,047.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.1% to 20,971.75 points by 19:03 ET (00:03 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.1% to 45,028.0 points. 

Trump threatens ‘100% tariffs’ against BRICS countries 

Trump on Sunday threatened to impose “100% tariffs” on the BRICS bloc of countries, which includes China. 

Trump criticized the bloc’s attempts to form its own currency and shift away from the U.S. dollar, threatening to cut the bloc off from U.S. trade over the move. He called for commitments to the dollar from the bloc.

Trump’s latest comments come after he had last week threatened higher import tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada, rattling global markets with the prospect of more protectionist policies in the U.S.

Investors also feared retaliatory measures from U.S. trading partners, especially China, which could spark a renewed trade war between the world’s biggest economies. 

Wall St at record highs with rate cues in focus 

Wall Street indexes surged to record highs in shortened trading on Friday, as investors cheered recent signs of resilience in the economy and also maintained bets that the Fed will cut rates later in December. 

Gains were more biased towards economically sensitive sectors, although tech stocks also recouped some recent losses.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to a record high of 6,032.4 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to a peak of 44,910.65 points. The NASDAQ Composite rose 0.8% to 19,218.17 points, but remained below recent record highs. 

Focus this week is on commentary from a slew of Fed officials, most notably Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. Key nonfarm payrolls data for November is also due later in the week, offering up more cues on the labor market.

Powell’s address and the labor data come just weeks before the Fed’s final meeting for the year, where the central bank is still expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.

But investors are bracing for a potentially slower pace of rate cuts in 2025, especially amid recent signs of sticky inflation. Trump’s protectionist policies are also expected to underpin inflation in the long term.