US stock futures edged lower on Wednesday as Wall Street braced for President Trump to reveal details of sweeping new tariffs that promise to profoundly shake up US trading relations worldwide.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) slipped 0.2%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) nudged down 0.1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) moved 0.3% lower on the heels of a mixed close for the major US stock gauges.
The day has finally arrived for Trump’s big tariff reveal, with Wall Street looking forward to the end of trade policy uncertainty that has buffeted stocks for weeks.
As of 4:39:34 AM EDT. Market Open.
ES=F NQ=F YM=F
Even now, markets remain in the dark as to what the new reciprocal duties will entail, and so how big the potential shock to the US economy will be. Fears are that the duties could spur a full-on trade war as countries respond with their own retaliatory tariffs.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
More hawkish options are on the table, media reports suggest, with the president considering imposing 20% “blanket” levies on trading partners. Whatever Trump announces in the Rose Garden at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the White House has said the tariffs will take effect immediately.
Once the dust has settled on the “Liberation Day” tariffs launch, focus will start to turn to the release of the March jobs report on Friday for insight on how the US economy is holding up amid the uncertainty around Trump’s policy shifts.
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Stock market coverage for Wednesday, April 2, 2025.
