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U.S. stock futures were inching higher Tuesday as investors reacted to reports that President Donald Trump would delay imposing auto tariffs on Europe during an anticipated speech scheduled to begin at noon.
How are major benchmarks performing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ19, +0.07% were up 9 points, or less than 0.1%, at 27,667, those for the S&P 500 index ESZ19, +0.04% advanced 1.35 point at 3,088.50, a gain of less than 0.1%, while Nasdaq-100 futures NQZ19, +0.09% added 8 points, or 0.1%, at 8,255.
On Monday, the Dow DJIA, +0.04% finished up around 10 points, or less than 0.1%, to 27,691.49, the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.20% declined 6 points, or 0.2%, to 3,087.01, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.13% fell 11 points, or 0.1%, to 8,464.27.
What’s driving the market?
Markets have been keenly focused on trade negotiations discussions between the U.S. and two of its major counterparts, Europe and China.
President Donald Trump is expected to put off for another six months a decision on whether to place tariffs of up to 25% on European auto imports. The president is scheduled to provide updates on trade policy and continuing negotiations between Beijing and Washington when he delivers a speech at the Economic Club of New York at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.
“The White House has until tomorrow to make its call, and there is talk the decision will be pushed back. Traders are cautiously optimistic, hence why stocks are higher this morning,” wrote David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, in a daily research note.
Comments on trade will be closely watched after Trump, over the weekend, said discussions with China and the U.S. were going “very nicely,” but cautioned that recent reports about an agreement to roll back tariffs, as a part of a preliminary trade resolution, weren’t accurate.
Meanwhile, Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida theorized about global bond yields hanging around historically lower levels “that are substantially lower than the precrisis experience, and thus substantially closer to the effective lower bound for the policy rate than they were before the crisis,” in prepared remarks at a policy conference in Zurich.
The Fed No. 2’s comments speak to challenges that the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee faces in the coming months as it weigh attempts to stave of a recession, with federal-fund rates at a 1.50%-1.75% range after three straight cuts by policy makers in as many meetings.
Clarida’s remarks come a day before Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is slated to speak and take questions from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Check out: Need to Know: Political headlines keeping you up? Focus on the data, says UBS portfolio manager
Which stocks are in focus?
Tyson Foods Inc. TSN, +0.12% stock sank 5.7% in Tuesday premarket trading after the meat producer reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales that missed estimates.
Dean Foods Co. DF, +2.29% has voluntarily filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, with the dairy company saying it was working toward an “orderly” sale of the company. Shares were up 2.3% in premarket trade.
How are other assets trading?
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, +0.00% climbed slightly to 1.938% from 1.930% on Friday. Bond markets were closed Monday in observance of Veterans Day.
December gold GCZ19, -0.15% on Comex fell $3.70, or 0.3%, to $1,553.40 an ounce, hanging around a three-month low, according to FactSet data.
West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery CLZ19, +0.46% popped 0.4% higher to $57.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after shedding 0.7% on Monday.
The ICE U.S. dollar index DXY, +0.15%, a gauge of the greenback’s performance against six major rivals, was up 0.2%, recovering some its losses from a day ago.
In Asia overnight, the China CSI 300 000300, +0.02% gained less than 0.1%, and the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, +0.17% rose 0.2%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.52% added, despite fresh protests flare-ups, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index NIK, +0.81% advanced 0.8%.
In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600’s SXXP, +0.19% gained 0.2%
