United States stock futures held steady on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT) following a volatile session that saw markets whipsawed by renewed tensions between the United States and China amid fresh threats from President Donald Trump.
By 9:40 am AEDT (10:40 pm GMT), futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures each edged up 0.1%.
The muted moves came after a tumultuous day on Wall Street.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8%, while the Dow defied the broader weakness to gain 0.4%. The S&P 500 finished 0.2% lower as investors navigated conflicting signals on trade and economic growth.
Markets were rattled late in the session when Trump threatened to impose a cooking oil embargo on China, citing Beijing’s failure to increase purchases of U.S. soybeans.
The comment marked the latest escalation in an increasingly fractious trade relationship that has unsettled global investors.
The renewed tensions followed Beijing’s decision on Monday to impose sanctions on five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, citing national security concerns.
The move came just days after Trump threatened to apply a 100% tariff on all Chinese imports in response to China’s restrictions on rare earth mineral exports - critical inputs for U.S. technology and defence industries.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC that Trump’s proposed tariffs could take effect as early as 1 November, depending on Beijing’s response.
“A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer said. “They are the ones who have chosen to make this major escalation.”
Reports from Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial, Abbott Laboratories, and ASML are all due before the opening U.S. bell.
