Futures Slide on Trade Tensions
Stock futures fell Monday, the first trading day of June, as global trade tensions increased.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slid 103 points, or 0.2%, Monday to 42,191.
Futures for the S&P 500 index let go of 20.25 points, or 0.3%, to 5,895.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ faltered 103 points, or 0.5%, to 21,277.75.
China pushed back against U.S. accusations that it had violated a temporary trade agreement. Instead, the country blamed Washington for failing to uphold the deal — a sign that negotiations between the world’s two largest economies are deteriorating.
Tensions reignited following a brief pause after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met in Geneva and agreed to a 90-day suspension of most tariffs.
National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett suggested on Sunday that President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping could have a conversation about trade as soon as this week.
Tensions between the U.S. and European Union also heightened after Trump said he would double steel tariffs to 50%. The EU warned that this “undermines” negotiations, with a spokesperson adding: “This decision adds further uncertainty to the global economy and increases costs for consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
On Friday, the S&P 500 closed out the month of May with a more than 6% gain, its best monthly performance since November 2023. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite surged more than 9% for the month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 4%.
In this news Monday, photocopy giant Xerox has cut its quarterly dividend for the second time in six months as it seeks to conserve cash.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index plummeted 1.3% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng sank 0.6%.
Oil prices hiked $2.48 to $63.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices popped $62.60 to $3,351.50 U.S. an ounce.
