Stocks pointed slightly lower Sunday night after President Donald Trump reignited trade war fears by doubling down on steel tariffs on Friday.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 89 points, or 0.21%. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.23%, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.31%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was essentially flat at to 4.442%. The dollar fell 0.21% against the euro and 0.31% against the yen.
The steel duty announcement came days after a U.S. trade court rule that the legal basis for Trump’s reciprocal tariffs was invalid. But his tariffs on certain industries, including steel, aluminum and autos, rests on a separate order that’s based on national security.
Meanwhile, administration officials sounded upbeat that the Trump and President Xi Jinping could sort out snags in U.S.-China trade talks.
“I’m confident that when President Trump and Party Chairman Xi have a call that this will be ironed out,” he said.
When asked about a timeline for a call, Bessent replied, “I believe we will see something very soon.”
Meanwhile, markets are headed for a big week of economic data and commentary as Wall Street waits for more clues on how much tariffs are impacting the economy.
On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index will come out. On Tuesday, the Labor Department will issue its job openings and labor turnover report. On Wednesday, ADP publishes its private-payrolls data. On Thursday, the Labor Department will release weekly jobless claims, ahead of its monthly jobs report on Friday.
Several Federal Reserve officials will speak throughout the week. On Monday, Chairman Jerome Powell will speak at 1 p.m. ET at a Fed conference in Washington, D.C. The Fed will also publish its beige book on Wednesday.
