US stock futures pulled back on Wednesday as investors weighed a flare-up in US-China tensions over chips and assessed Target (TGT)-highlighted retail earnings for insight into the economic impact of President Trump’s tariffs.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) fell 0.7%, while S&P 500 (ES=F) futures dropped roughly 0.4%. Contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) also slid 0.4%.
Stocks are retreating, with the S&P 500 snapping a six-day run of gains as relief over the surprise US-China trade truce fades. Meanwhile, growing concern about the US deficit and ballooning debt has intensified attention on discussions around Trump’s tax-and-spending bill.
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The US and China have begun feuding over chips again, less than two weeks after agreeing a temporary pause in tariff hostilities. The Trump administration’s warnings against using AI chips by Huawei have undermined the recent trade talks in Geneva, China said — putting the fragile trade deal at risk and reviving worries about economic fallout.
Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said Wednesday the US curbs on exports of AI chips were “a failure” that had boosted Chinese alternatives and cost American companies billions of dollars in lost sales.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Tariffs are in focus for Target’s (TGT) first quarter results, after Trump told retailers they need to “eat” the costs of duties and not pass them on to customers.
The discount retailer missed badly on quarterly earnings and cut its full-year outlook, but its top executives repeatedly declined to say whether Target will follow Walmart (WMT) in passing on costs of tariffs via price hikes. Other retailers on Wednesday’s docket include Lowe’s (LOW), TJX Companies (TJX), and Urban Outfitters (URBN).
Meanwhile, markets are keeping a close eye on Trump’s giant tax bill, as a reportedly frustrated president urges Republican lawmakers to put their demands on the back burner so it can progress. Anxieties about the budget bill and the US debt have helped push up US bond yields. The 30-year Treasury yield (^TYX) jumped back above the key 5% level on Wednesday, with 10-year yields (^TNX) back above 4.5%.
Currency concerns also have alarm bells ringing as the US dollar fell to a two-week low with traders eyeing the ongoing G-7 meeting for signs the Trump administration may favor a weaker currency.
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