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Wall Street was set for a higher open on Wednesday as investors largely brushed off President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats and focused on ongoing negotiations with global trade partners.
At 8:20 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up by 15.25 points, or 0.24%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis gained 47.25 points, or 0.21%, and Dow E-minis climbed 127 points, or 0.29%.
Trump escalated his trade offensive on Tuesday by announcing a 50% tariff on copper and stating that he would impose long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. This move came a day after the White House had shaken 14 trading partners with new tariff warnings, adding that at least seven additional notices would be released later in the day.
However, the market’s reaction to this latest announcement was more subdued compared to Monday’s selloff, which was triggered by new tariff threats against Japan and South Korea. With tariff deadlines now extended to August 1, investors remained hopeful that negotiations would prevent a full-scale trade war.
“Markets have gotten used to how Trump negotiates, where he goes very aggressive to begin with and then we end up at a much lower level,” said Ross Bramwell, investment strategist at Homrich Berg. “They will react if they see an impact of tariffs in second-quarter earnings next week. But if earnings continue to improve, that just gives them an even longer wait for the tariff negotiations to get finalized.”
In the meantime, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that the European Union is working closely with the Trump administration to reach an agreement, but is preparing for any outcome.
After last week’s record-breaking closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq—boosted by a strong jobs report—investors were turning their attention to Thursday’s initial jobless claims for further insights into the labor market. The Dow was about 1.9% away from reaching an all-time high.
Traders will also scrutinize the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting, set to be released at 2:00 p.m. ET, for indications on when the central bank might resume easing interest rates. While a rate cut in July seems unlikely, there is a 63% chance of a rate reduction in September, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Amid Trump’s tumultuous tariff policies, the Federal Reserve has held off on cutting interest rates, cautious about how trade uncertainty might affect both growth and inflation.
In individual stock news, AES Corp saw a 13.5% rise in premarket trading following a Bloomberg report that the power provider is exploring strategic options, including a potential sale.
On the downside, shares of health insurer UnitedHealth Group dropped 1.6% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating how the company utilized doctors and nurses to gather diagnoses that increased its Medicare payments.
Meanwhile, shares of U.S. advertising giants Interpublic and Omnicom fell more than 3% each after WPP, a key competitor, lowered its annual profit guidance.
