Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 13, 2025.
NYSE
Stocks futures slightly lower on Friday as investors weighed the latest on global trade after President Donald Trump held off on imposing new reciprocal tariffs.
Futures linked to the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 120 points, or 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures edged down 0.1%.
On Thursday, Trump signed a memorandum on laying out a plan to impose levies on goods from countries with duties on U.S. products. The new tariffs on take effect immediately. Instead, Trump tasked Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick to lead studies on the appropriate levies for each country.
The lack of immediate tariffs boosted sentiment on Thursday, which saw equity markets move higher as investors also piled into technology stocks. Traders were also seemingly relieved after January’s producer price index, as well as the consumer price index report released earlier this week, that appeared to suggest a softer reading for the personal consumption expenditures price index. The PCE price index, which is due later this month, is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
While markets managed to end the previous trading session higher Siebert chief investment officer Mark Malek believes that this relief and positive momentum over a pause in reciprocal tariffs may be short-lived.
“The market will have pressure on Friday — there was not enough clear stimulus for the market to trade this way … nothing that would justify this late-day move. I listened very carefully to the president speaking, and there was nothing in there that stood out to me as great for the market,” he said. “Friday is going to be one of those days where people are going to try to figure out what this all means.”
For now, the major averages are all on pace to end the week higher. The S&P 500 and the Dow are set for a gain of about 1.5% and 0.9%, respectively. The Nasdaq is 2.2% higher this week.
