US Stock Futures Fall Amid Growing Trade Jitters: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — US stock futures pointed to further declines on Wall Street after the S&P 500’s biggest drop this year as worries over global trade tensions weighed on markets.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts slipped by at least 0.5%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 slumped 1.5% on concerns the region will be President Donald Trump’s next target for import tariffs.

Trump on Monday imposed levies on Mexico, Canada and China in his biggest push yet to remake global trade. Investors will be watching his address to Congress later for hints on future steps. Canada announced a sweeping package of tariffs in response and China retaliated by imposing tariffs as high as 15% on some US exports. 

Oil extended its slump on concerns over trade frictions and plans by OPEC+ to revive halted production. Haven investments like the Swiss franc and the yen posted strong gains, while gold climbed above $2,920 an ounce.

“We’re in a downward market and we don’t know when it’s going to stop,” said Nicolas Domont, a fund manager at Optigestion in Paris. “It’s by no means catastrophic, but we are still waiting for some good news.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell for a second day, sliding 0.5%. Yields on policy-sensitive two-year Treasuries dropped as much as 6 basis points to the lowest since October as traders increased wagers on the scope of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts this year. Money markets now price 75 basis points of Fed reductions, for the first time since the middle of December, reflecting concerns for the outlook on the US economy.

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Trump on Monday also ordered a pause to all military aid to Ukraine, turning up the heat on Volodymyr Zelenskiy just days after an Oval Office blowup with the Ukrainian president left the support of his country’s most important ally in doubt. 

The euro rose as much as 0.6% to its highest level this year as the European Union proposed extending €150 billion ($158 billion) in loans to boost defense spending. A basket of European defense stocks hit a record high as Thales SA jumped 8% after its results beat expectations, while Hensoldt AG rallied as much as 18%.

Tariff-sensitive automakers and energy stocks led declines in Europe as the US levies took effect. 

“We need to know exactly what the US plan is towards European tariffs,” said Salman Ahmed, global head of macro and strategic asset allocation at Fidelity International. “It’s likely to be different from Canadian and Mexican tariffs, because the interrelationships are different. It’s a big unknown for European equity outperformance to continue.”

Cryptocurrencies remained volatile after Trump stepped up calls for a digital-asset stockpile. Bitcoin declined for a second day after sinking more than 9% on Monday. The MVIS CryptoCompare Digital Assets 100 Index slipped as much as 9.8%.

In Asia, Chinese stocks were modestly lower, on speculation the country is taking a measured approach to US levies with its retaliatory tariffs, stopping short of a full-blown trade war.

India’s NSE Nifty 50 Index equities benchmark extended its drop to a record 10th day. Overseas investors continue to flee the market on concerns about slowing economic growth and relatively high valuations. 

Key events this week:

• Eurozone unemployment, Tuesday
• President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, Tuesday
• China Caixin services PMI, Wednesday
• Eurozone HCOB services PMI, PPI, Wednesday
• US ADP employment, ISM services index, factory orders, Wednesday
• Fed’s Beige Book, Wednesday
• Eurozone retail sales, ECB rate decision, Thursday
• US trade, initial jobless claims, wholesale inventories, Thursday
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks, Thursday
• Fed’s Christopher Waller and Raphael Bostic speak, Thursday
• Eurozone GDP, Friday
• US jobs report, Friday
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell gives keynote speech at an event in New York hosted by University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Friday
• Fed’s John Williams, Michelle Bowman and Adriana Kugler speak, Friday

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% as of 7:31 a.m. New York time
• Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6%
• Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
• The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.4%
• The MSCI World Index was little changed

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.6%
• The euro rose 0.6% to $1.0553
• The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2749
• The Japanese yen rose 0.9% to 148.15 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 2.1% to $83,481.07
• Ether fell 0.9% to $2,090.5

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 4.13%
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 2.47%
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined six basis points to 4.50%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.6% to $67.26 a barrel
• Spot gold rose 1% to $2,922.35 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Aya Wagatsuma and Sujata Rao.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.