Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures slip amid murky signals on Trump's trade policy
US stock futures slipped as Wall Street assessed President Trump's evolving trade policy as well as softening inflation.
Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) dipped 0.1%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) fell 0.2%.
On Wednesday, Trump said 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.
Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs
The president's comments come as the 90 day pause on his most sweeping tariffs is set to expire July 9. Earlier on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress it is "highly likely" that countries engaged in trade negotiations with the US would see an extension of the tariff pause.
The latest twists and turns in Trump's tariff policy challenge Wall Street's growing confidence in easing trade tensions. The US and China announced Tuesday that the countries had agreed to a proposal that would address critical trade disputes.
Stocks wobbled during the day Wednesday amid the evolving trade news as well as the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which showed easing inflation pressures. The data puts the Federal Reserve in a tight spot ahead of its policy meeting next week, though analysts expect officials to maintain their wait-and-see approach to interest rate cuts as tariff uncertainty lingers.
On Thursday, investors will receive fresh data on wholesale inflation with the release of the Producer Price Index (PPI) report. As earnings season wraps up, Adobe (ADBE) will also share its results.
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