US Stocks Rally Looks Set to Pause as Intel Slumps: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US stock futures turned lower after three days of gains on Wall Street as a mixed picture on earnings and confusing developments in the US-China tariff standoff confronted traders.

Contracts for the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, reversing a gain of 0.8%. Intel Corp. slumped almost 8% in premarket after its weaker-than-expected outlook. Alphabet Inc. jumped after estimate-beating earnings. Skechers USA Inc. dropped 7% as it withdrew its full-year forecast amid uncertainty caused by US tariffs. Europe’s Stoxx 600 index gained 0.4%. 

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The dollar strengthened, while the yen and Swiss franc retreated as investor demand for non-US haven assets waned. Gold slid 1.5%. Treasuries extended their gains from Thursday. 

On the trade front, Bloomberg News reported that China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports. Later, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated that China isn’t in talks with the US over tariffs, contradicting President Donald Trump and underscoring the complexities for investors tracking headlines out of Washington and Beijing.

“We are currently in tariff purgatory,” said Joachim Klement, strategist at Panmure Liberum. “There is no fundamental change to the outlook, so markets latch on to noise and get constantly whipsawed by the ever-changing utterances of Donald Trump and his cabinet.”

Before the Bell: China Mulls Some Exemptions, Stocks Set to Rise

Traders took some comfort from hopes that the Federal Reserve may reduce interest rates earlier than expected. Markets currently favor a quarter-point cut in June and a total of three such reductions by year-end.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he’d support rate cuts in the event aggressive tariffs hurt the jobs market. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said the central bank could move on rates as early as June if it has clear evidence of the economy’s direction.

While the dollar was on course for its first weekly gain in a month and the S&P 500 is up 3.8% over three days, Bank of America Corp. strategists said investors should sell into rallies in US stocks and the greenback, cautioning that the conditions for sustained gains are missing.

The dollar is in the midst of a longer term depreciation while the shift away from US assets has further to go, according to the BofA team led by Michael Hartnett. The trend would continue until the Fed starts cutting rates, the US reaches a trade deal with China and consumer spending stays resilient.

The depreciation of the dollar is the “cleanest investment theme to play,” according to Hartnett.

In Asian markets, stocks rose amid the broadly more positive tone around trade. A gauge of the region’s equities on Friday erased all its losses since April 2, the day Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs.

On Thursday, Trump said his administration was talking with China, even as Beijing denied the existence of negotiations and demanded the US revoke all unilateral tariffs. Meanwhile, the US and South Korea could reach an “agreement of understanding” on trade as soon as next week, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 

“Trump has blinked and starting to fold, not following his own mantra of the ‘art of the deal,’” said Colin Graham, head of multi-asset strategies at Robeco Groep. “But we know he can change his mind and put tariffs back up, so this is noise rather than a signal.”

Elsewhere, stocks and bonds tumbled in India, as traders braced for a potential worsening of the geopolitical situation with neighboring Pakistan.

Indian shares were the worst performers in Asia on Friday, while the rupee and the nation’s bonds also slid, indicating growing angst among traders over any further ramping up of tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.3% as of 8:28 a.m. New York time
• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.3%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.4%
• The MSCI World Index was little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%
• The euro fell 0.3% to $1.1353
• The British pound fell 0.2% to $1.3319
• The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 143.41 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.2% to $94,603.96
• Ether rose 1.5% to $1,788.64

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.27%
• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 2.46%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 4.48%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $61.90 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 1.5% to $3,299.39 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Anand Krishnamoorthy, James Hirai and Michael Msika.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.