United States stock futures opened higher on Sunday evening (Monday AEST), buoyed by optimism surrounding global trade after the Trump administration announced progress in its negotiations with China over the weekend.
At 9:15 am AEST (11:15 pm GMT) Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 1%, S&P 500 futures gained 1.2%, and Nasdaq-100 futures were up by 1.5%.
The rally followed U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks that the weekend talks in Geneva with Chinese officials had delivered “substantial progress”, although specific details were withheld pending a scheduled briefing on Monday morning (Tuesday AEST).
President Donald Trump also took to Truth Social, claiming that prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices would be slashed by 30% to 80% “almost immediately”, further fuelling market sentiment.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reiterated that the 10% baseline tariff on imports is expected to remain in place “for the foreseeable future", aligning with recent comments from Trump.
The move in futures comes after a losing week on Wall Street. The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.3%, and the Dow declined by 0.2%, marking the first weekly loss in three.
This week, investor focus will shift to economic data, particularly the consumer price index (CPI) for April, due Tuesday. Additional economic figures - retail sales and the producer price index - will follow on Thursday, offering further insight into consumer demand and pricing pressures.
