The stock market struggled to maintain its footing on Thursday as investors assessed murky signals on President Trump’s trade policy amid softening inflation. S&P 500 futures fell 0.37%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.29%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average also pulled back by 257 points, or 0.6%.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Wednesday that the U.S. might extend the tariff pause for countries demonstrating “good faith” in trade talks. The U.S. has 18 key trading partners and is working toward deals with them. Bessent indicated that the tariff pause, set to expire on July 9, could be extended to continue negotiations.
However, Trump announced that he would send letters to trading partners within a week or two setting unilateral tariff rates. “At a certain point, we’re just going to send letters out. And I think you understand that, saying this is the deal, you can take it or leave it,” the president said at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Trade uncertainties rattle stock market
The latest twists and turns in Trump’s tariff policy challenge Wall Street’s growing confidence in easing trade tensions. The Federal Reserve is closely watching these developments ahead of its policy meeting next week, with potential interest rate cuts as tariff uncertainty lingers.
In other news, Boeing stock fell by 8% in premarket trading on Thursday after an Air India aircraft carrying over 200 people crashed minutes after taking off from the country’s western city of Ahmedabad. The plane, identified as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, was headed to Gatwick Airport in the UK and crashed in a civilian area near the airport. Oracle stock rose 8% in premarket trading on Thursday after the tech company raised its annual forecast, driven by demand for its AI-related cloud services.
GameStop shares slumped by 11% after announcing a convertible notes offering. Oil prices pulled back early Thursday morning, reversing overnight gains as traders assessed a US decision to reduce staffing in Iraq. This decision followed threats from Iran to target US assets in the region ahead of talks with the US over nuclear-related activity.
Gold rose for a second consecutive day as tensions in the Middle East, coupled with Trump’s claims of upcoming unilateral tariffs, pushed risk-averse investors toward the haven commodity.
