U.S. stock futures dip ahead of a week filled with key earnings reports and ongoing tariff tensions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent does not back up a claim from President Donald Trump that trade talks between the U.S. and China are underway. Airbus finalizes a deal to assume some assets from supplier Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR), and gold slips as hopes for easing trade disputes dented the yellow metal’s safe-haven demand.
1. Futures lower
U.S. stock futures edged lower on Monday, with investors turning their attention to a week of crucial corporate earnings that come against a backdrop of tariff-driven international tensions.
By 03:34 ET (07:34 GMT), the Dow futures contract had edged down by 37 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures had fallen by 9 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had dropped by 31 points, or 0.2%.
The main averages on Wall Street ended higher on Friday, as markets assessed company results and looked for signs of easing in a trade spat between the U.S. and China.
Tech was among the largest gainers, underpinned by a 1.7% rise in shares in Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), who reported a spike in cloud revenue and told investors that its much-scrutinized investments in artificial intelligence were paying off.
Beijing moved to exempt some U.S. imports from its steep 125% duties, which it had imposed in response to massive 145% levies announced by Washington. However, China rejected claims from President Donald Trump that the two countries had held trade negotiations (more below).
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Concerns over the widespread impact of the tariffs have showed recent indications of growing, a final reading of a key survey of U.S. consumer sentiment suggested on Friday. The gauge from the University of Michigan was at its lowest level since July 2022, although it was slightly upwardly revised from the preliminary reading.
2. Earnings today
A parade of U.S. corporate earnings marches on this week, starting with a host of companies on Monday after markets close.
NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI), Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE), Cincinnati Financial (NASDAQ:CINF), and SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC) are all among the names slated to report.
Out of the over 175 firms in the benchmark S&P 500 that have reported so far, more than 70% have topped expectations, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Aggregate S&P 500 earnings for the January to March period are now tipped to increase by 9.7% versus a year ago, up from an estimate of 8.0% on April 1, Reuters reported.
While the quarterly figures from these companies have been in focus, much of the attention has centered around how companies are preparing for the effect of elevated U.S. tariffs. Several businesses have either cut or scrapped their guidance, flagging that the economic picture in the months ahead remains murky.
3. Bessent on China and tariffs
Uncertainty clouds the trajectory of any detente in the U.S.-China trade dispute, particularly after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent failed this weekend to back up a claim from Trump that talks between Washington and Beijing had begun.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Bessent added that he did not know if Trump had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping, even after the White House indicated that it was open to ratcheting down trade tensions. Trump had said the discussions were taking place with China and that he had had a conversation with Xi.
Speaking to ABC’s "This Week" program, Bessent only noted that Trump and Xi have a "very good relationship and a lot of respect for each other." Bessent also said he had had interactions with officials from China at last week’s International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington. He did not say if they talked about tariffs.
In recent days, Bessent, who is viewed as a major player in any potential negotiations, has said that the talks will be a "slog" and did not lay out a timetable for a possible agreement.
4. Airbus finalizes Spirit Aero deal
Airbus has finalized an agreement to take over some assets from Spirit AeroSystems, in a step forward for a planned carve-up of the ailing jet supplier with U.S. group Boeing (NYSE:BA).
The announcement comes after Boeing agreed last year to repurchase Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion in stock, and Airbus said it would assume the company’s loss-making activities focused on Europe.
Under the current deal, Airbus, the European planemaking giant, said it would make non-interest bearing credit lines worth $200 million open to Spirit. Airbus will also receive $439 million in compensation from Spirit, as well as the production of A220 wings at a plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads. Spirit CFO Irene Esteves called the agreement a "significant milestone" as the firm works to close the Boeing acquisition.
5. Gold slips
Gold prices extended declines on Monday, moving away from record highs as signs of a potential softening in U.S.-China trade tensions weighed on demand for the safe-haven metal.
As of 03:35 ET, spot gold fell 1.0% to $3,283.62 per ounce, while gold futures expiring in June edged down 0.1% to $3,293.51 an ounce.
Investors were also awaiting critical U.S. jobs data for April, scheduled for Friday, as well as first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product data and the Federal Reserve’s favoured inflation gauge, the PCE price index, this week.
These numbers could factor in to the interest rate plans of the Fed, which has signaled that it will adopt a wait-and-see approach to future policy decisions due to global trade uncertainty.
