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Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were subdued on Tuesday, with investors awaiting President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated unveiling of sweeping new tariffs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the announcement will come on April 2, while the White House releases a list of foreign countries’ regulations that it considers to be trade barriers. Traders will be keeping an eye out for job openings data later today, and tariff-related uncertainty underpins a rise in gold prices to a record high again.
1. Futures muted
U.S. stock futures hovered around the flatline as the world braces for the announcement on new tariffs by President Trump later this week.
By 03:34 ET (07:34 GMT), the Dow futures contract, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were all mostly unchanged.
The main indices on Wall Street were mixed at the end of trading on Monday, as markets took a deep breath before Trump is expected to unveil the levies on April 2 -- what he has deemed "Liberation Day."
Trump has argued that the tariffs are necessary to correct imbalances between the U.S. and its foreign trade partners, as well as a tool to bring manufacturing jobs back to the country. However, some economists have warned that the duties will refuel inflationary pressures and weigh on growth, leading to a period of so-called "stagflation."
Jitters over the prospect of the tariffs have dented sentiment among investors, who had initially been hopeful that Trump would usher in pro-growth and business-friendly policies, for much of the first quarter, with the benchmark S&P 500 index slipping to its worst first three months of a year since 2022.
2. Bessent on Trump tariff announcement timing
Trump will announce his new round of trade tariffs on April 2 at 15:00 ET (19:00 GMT), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview on Monday.
“I’m not going to get ahead of President Trump, he’s going to announce them at three o’clock, on Wednesday,” Bessent told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“We’re going to see fair trade […] everyone will have an opportunity to lower their tariffs, non-tariff barriers […] and make the global trading system fair for American workers again,” Bessent said.
Bessent’s comments echoed Trump’s view that the U.S. is treated unfairly in global trade. Trump plans to impose tariffs matching those imposed by major trading partners on American goods.
Late on Monday, the White House released a detailed list of foreign countries’ rules that it views as trade barriers, including applied tariff rates and regulations on everything from food safety to renewable energy.
3. JOLTS data ahead
Traders are eyeing a slew of indicators due out this week, as well as a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the state of the economy.
Markets will have the chance to parse through the February reading of a measure of job openings later today, which will be the first of a string of labor market data that will culminate with the all-important nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, is seen coming in at 7.690 million on the last day of February, compared with 7.740 million in the previous month.
The figures -- which are considered to be a proxy for labor demand -- come as worries are growing that Trump’s tariffs will trigger an economic slowdown. Analysts at Goldman Sachs have lifted their estimate for the odds of a recession to 35%.
4. Chinese factory activity speeds up
Chinese manufacturing activity grew more than expected to a four-month high in March thanks to a sustained rise in new orders, private Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data showed on Tuesday, although the outlook remained clouded over by Trump’s tariff plans.
The Caixin manufacturing PMI grew 51.2 in March, above expectations of 50.6 and the prior month’s reading of 50.8.
A reading above 50 signals expansion, and March’s increase -- the largest since November -- marks the sixth consecutive month of growth.
Stronger demand and new product launches helped boost new business inflows. Foreign demand also picked up, with companies reporting the fastest increase in export orders in nearly a year, the PMI survey stated.
"The majority of surveyed companies expressed confidence in the near-term economic outlook, although some remained cautious over a potential escalation in global trade tensions," Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight said in a statement.
5. Gold hits fresh record high
Gold prices notched a new all-time high in Asian trading on Tuesday, boosted by bullion’s safe-haven appeal as market participants prepared for the upcoming tariff announcements from Trump.
Uncertainty surrounding these trade policies has driven investors towards gold, which is traditionally viewed as a safe-haven asset during times of geopolitical and economic instability. The yellow metal has logged consecutive fresh record highs in the last four sessions.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin rose, steadying somewhat after the world’s biggest cryptocurrency slumped by about 11% in the first quarter, with sentiment frail in the face of Trump’s levies.
Meanwhile, oil prices inched higher after Trump threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russian crude and attack Iran, though worries that trade tariffs could hit global growth capped gains. The benchmarks settled at five-week highs a day earlier.