U.S. stock futures rose on Tuesday following a volatile day of trading on Monday that led the indices to close on a mixed note. Futures of major benchmark indices were higher in premarket.
The sell-off that began on Thursday has driven the Nasdaq into bear market territory, whereas the S&P 500 and Dow Jones continue to be in the correction zone.
As China’s Commerce Ministry said that it "resolutely opposes" U.S. President Donald Trump‘s threat to impose additional 50% duties on Chinese imports, the ministry vowed to take countermeasures to protect its interests, intensifying trade tensions that have already triggered market turmoil.
Major indices were significantly down from recent highs as of Tuesday. The S&P 500 was 17.65% lower, the Nasdaq 100 was down 21.56%, and the Dow Jones declined 15.77%, following a week of tariff-driven selloffs.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.17% and the two-year bond was at 3.77%. However, the CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections showed markets pricing a 71.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve keeping the current interest rates unchanged in its May meeting.
Futures | Change (+/-) |
Dow Jones | 2.03% |
S&P 500 | 1.67% |
Nasdaq 100 | 1.42% |
Russell 2000 | 2.06% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, advanced in premarket on Tuesday. The SPY was up 1.13% to $510.07, while the QQQ declined 1.09% to $428.30, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
Real estate, materials, and utilities sectors led Monday’s S&P 500 decline, pulling the U.S. stocks to a mixed close, with the Dow Jones falling for its third consecutive session.
Conversely, communication services and information technology stocks bucked the trend, closing higher.
Within tech, Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell roughly 2.6%, while Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost 3.7%. Market volatility stemmed from Trump’s Truth Social post, threatening 50% U.S. tariffs on China following China’s 34% retaliatory tariffs.
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index reported a 0.7% month-over-month drop in March, consistent with February’s decline.
The Dow Jones index slumped 349 points or 0.91% to 37,965.60, whereas the S&P 500 index fell 0.23% to 5,062.25. Nasdaq Composite bucked the trend to end 0.099% higher at 15,603.26, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, tumbled 0.92% to 1,810.14.
Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
Nasdaq Composite | 0.099% | 15,603.26 |
S&P 500 | -0.23% | 5,062.25 |
Dow Jones | -0.91% | 37,965.60 |
Russell 2000 | -0.92% | 1,810.14 |
Insights From Analysts:
Lawrence McDonald, founder of Bear Traps Report, calculates that Trump’s tariff-driven selloff has obliterated $9 trillion in just six weeks, matching the COVID crash’s one-month losses and exceeding the 2008 Lehman collapse’s 12-month decline.
Only the 2022 inflation downturn saw greater losses, at $10 trillion over 11 months. Notably, unlike previous crises where bond yields plummeted, current 30-year yields remain high, near 4.5%, eliminating a traditional bond-market safety net. Reuters reports the global impact of these tariffs at a $10 trillion market wipeout.
The VIX sustained levels above 45 for two consecutive days, closing at 45.31 on Monday and 46.98 on Tuesday. As former Luby Asset Management CIO Bill Luby noted, this marks the first such occurrence since the 2008-09 Great Financial Crisis and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
A dramatic 118% surge in the VIX over three days marks its fifth-largest such spike. Creative Planning’s Charlie Bilello‘s data shows that the two larger three-day VIX spikes of 176% in 2018 and 167% in 2015, preceded strong S&P 500 returns over the following one to five years, leading Bilello to conclude that “high volatility/fear = opportunity”.
Meanwhile, Bravos Research indicates a “risk-off” sentiment in the U.S. stock market, triggered by a gold-to-silver ratio breakout, currently at 99.59. This closely watched metric suggests investors are shifting from volatile silver to safe-haven gold, a pattern seen before the 2022, 2020, and 2008 market downturns.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will keep an eye on Tuesday:
Stocks In Focus:
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.05% to hover around $60.73 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar advanced 0.82% to hover around $3,007.02 per ounce. Its fresh record high stood at $3,168.04 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was lower by 0.14% at the 103.111 level.
Asian markets rose on Tuesday. India's S&P BSE Sensex, Japan's Nikkei 225, Australia's ASX 200, China’s CSI 300, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, and South Korea's Kospi index advanced. European markets were also higher in early trade.
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