(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday as investors awaited possible negotiations between the United States and its trading partners for more clarity on the tariff war that has roiled financial markets for months.
The Trump administration wants countries to provide their best offer on trade negotiations by Wednesday as officials seek to accelerate talks with multiple partners ahead of a self-imposed deadline in just five weeks, according to a draft letter to negotiating partners seen by Reuters.
President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to speak this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.
Impeding global stocks’ march to record highs, Trump said last week he planned to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50% starting on Wednesday.
Before that, a softening of Trump’s harsh trade stance had allowed a recovery in risky assets in May, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting their biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2023.
The S&P 500 remains less than 4% away from its record highs touched in February.
“Market sentiment cannot find an anchor since trade policies remain fluid,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development revised its global growth forecast down to 2.9% for 2025, from 3.1% expected earlier, citing the effects of Trump’s trade war on the U.S. economy.
Deutsche Bank, however, raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 6,550 from 6,150, citing lower tariff-related pressure on earnings and a resilient economy.
At 05:46 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 174 points, or 0.41%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 26.25 points, or 0.44%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 83 points, or 0.39%.
Most megacap and growth stocks were down in premarket trade. Microsoft led losses with a nearly 0.4% dip.
April factory orders and JOLTS job openings data are scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. U.S. central bank officials including Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Dallas President Lorie Logan are due to speak through the day.
Later in the week, monthly jobs data may offer more signs on how trade uncertainty is affecting the world’s biggest economy.
Among early movers, Pinterest shares rose 4.1% after J.P.Morgan raised its rating to “overweight” from “neutral”.
Dollar General, up 2.1%, will report quarterly results before markets open.
(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
