At 6.52am, Dow E-minis were down 69 points, or 0.15%, US S&P 500 E-minis were down 5 points, or 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 6 points, or 0.03%.
Yesterday, President Donald Trump announced a new 50% tariff on copper to start on Aug 1 and threatened a 50% tariff on exports to the US from Brazil.
He also issued tariff notices to seven minor trading partners.
US-listed shares of Brazilian firms fell in premarket trading, with Petrobras down 1.2%, Itau Unibanco sliding 2.1% and Banco Santander falling 3.5%.
Yet, several countries are still waiting for official word from the White House, as investors closely monitor the evolving trade negotiations.
Hopes are also high for a breakthrough with India, with both Trump and top officials hinting a deal is within reach, while talks with the EU inch closer to a framework agreement.
Wall Street closed higher yesterday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq notching a record close – propelled by Nvidia’s historic leap to a US$4 trillion valuation, making it the first company ever to hit that mark.
The chip giant’s shares continued to climb, up 0.7% before the bell.
The S&P 500 and the Dow also eked out gains, buoyed by the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) June meeting that showed most officials said they expect rate cuts will be appropriate later this year, with price shocks from Trump’s import taxes expected to be “temporary or modest”.
While a July Fed rate cut seems off the table, the odds of a September reduction stand at 67%, up from around 60% before the minutes’ release, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“The resilient US economic backdrop gives the Fed time to study the effects of tariff increases on prices and growth before resuming interest-rate reductions,” said Elias Haddad, senior markets strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman.
Last week’s robust labour market report sent Wall Street’s major indexes to fresh record highs, signaling a rebound from April’s sharp sell-off following “Liberation Day” tariff announcements.
Now, the blue-chip Dow is 1.4% away from reclaiming its December 4 all-time high.
Investors will parse through a reading of initial jobless claims figures for the week of July 5, due at 8.30am, for the next pulse check on the labour market.
Additionally, Fed board governor Christopher Waller, St Louis Fed president Alberto Musalem and San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly are expected to offer remarks later in the day.
Among stocks, WK Kellogg leapt 50.6% following reports that Italian candy maker Ferrero was nearing a deal to buy the cereal maker.
Shares of Delta Air Lines jumped 10.5% after forecasting third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street estimates.
Peers United Airlines rose 7%, while American Airlines gained 6.4%.