United States stock futures saw a modest uptick on Wednesday night (Thursday AEST), following a tech-led sell-off during the regular session that rattled investor confidence.
As of 8:55 am AEST (10:55 pm GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 each rose by 0.1%.
Wednesday’s regular trading session saw major benchmarks fall, driven by renewed concerns over trade policy and a sharp pullback in the technology sector.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7%, the S&P 500 dropped 2.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 3.1%.
Nvidia was at the centre of the tech retreat, plunging 6.9% after revealing a US$5.5 billion quarterly charge linked to export restrictions on its H20 GPUs to China and other destinations under U.S. export controls.
The stock remained under pressure in after-hours trading, declining a further 0.8%.
Markets weakened further into Wednesday afternoon after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that Trump’s proposed tariffs could pose short-term inflation risks and complicate the central bank’s monetary policy outlook.
Speaking at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell said the levies are “likely to move us further away from our goals” and could lead to a “challenging scenario” where the Fed’s dual mandates of price stability and maximum employment come into conflict.
Analysts at ANZ noted in a client report, “Trade and tariff tensions continue to build. Overnight, the U.S. administration announced tariffs of up to 245% on certain Chinese goods. Media reports note that Chinese policymakers want the U.S. to ‘show respect’ before beginning trade talks.
"In addition, the expectation is also that the U.S. maintains a consistent position and there is an appointed point-of-contact who can hold talks on behalf of the administration.”
ANZ also highlighted the start of talks between the U.S. and Japan, led by Treasury Secretary Bessent. “President Trump has said that he will attend the talks with Japan. Being one of the first countries to approach the U.S. for direct talks, Japan’s discussions are being closely watched by financial markets to assess what concessions are discussed at the meeting.”
