Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures rose in Asian trade on Monday after reports said that President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariffs will be narrower and less strict than initially feared, helping soothe some concerns over their impact.
Reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal showed that Trump will likely not impose sectoral tariffs next week, and that his plans for reciprocal tariffs will be limited to about 15 countries.
Futures rose as Wall Street saw some relief last week after slumping to six-month lows earlier in March. But stock indexes still remained in sight of correction territory.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.7% to 5,756.50 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.8% to 20,119.00 points by 01:34 ET (05:34 GMT). Dow Jones Futures rose 0.6% to 42,552.0 points.
Trump to not impose sectoral tariffs, reciprocal duties to be limited
Trump, who has repeatedly touted April 2 as “liberation day” for the U.S., will not impose threatened tariffs on key industries such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and select commodities, several media reports said.
Trump will unveil plans for tariffs matching those imposed by major trading partners on U.S. goods. But these will also be limited to a group of about 15 countries that officials have identified as having large trade imbalances with the U.S.
Each country will receive a tariff figure based on its trade relation with the U.S.
Concerns over Trump’s tariffs had battered Wall Street in recent weeks, as markets feared that they will increase inflation, disrupt global trade and dent U.S. economic growth.
While tariffs against major U.S. trading partners are still expected to weigh on the economy, their lessened scope offered investors some hope that the impact will be minimal.
Wall Street had regained some ground last week amid bets that Trump will scale back his tariffs to lessen their economic impact. The U.S. President had earlier in May flip-flopped on duties against Canada and Mexico, before allowing several key industries exemptions from the 25% tariffs on the two countries.
Wall Street indexes closed mostly flat on Friday and clocked mild gains for the week, trading above recent six-month lows. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 5,667.56 points, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.5% to 17,784.05 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to 41,985.35 points.
Fedspeak, economic data on tap
Focus this week is on a slew of addresses by Federal Reserve officials for more cues on the U.S. economy, especially after the central bank last week signaled heightened uncertainty over Trump’s policies.
The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged in the near-term, with sticky inflation also limiting the scope for rate cuts.
Beyond the Fed, purchasing managers index data for March is set to offer more cues on U.S. business activity. A revised reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product data is also due this week.