Futures Pointing To Continued Strength On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to add to the strong gains posted in the previous session.

The markets may continue to benefit from optimism President Donald Trump plans to take a more narrow approach to new tariffs.

Trump said at an event on Monday that he “may give a lot of countries breaks” on reciprocal tariffs that are set to take effect April 2nd.

However, Trump also said he plans to impose tariffs on the automotive and pharmaceutical industries in the “very near future” and later added the lumber and semiconductor industries to his list of targets.

The president has recently made many conflicting remarks about his tariffs plans, leading to considerable uncertainty on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks turned in a strong performance on Monday, with the technology sector posting more pronounced gains. The markets stayed positive as the mood remained bullish throughout the day.

The major averages all closed on a high note. The Dow settled higher by 597.97 points or 1.4 percent, at 42,583.32. The S&P 500 closed up 100.01 points or 1.8 percent, at 5,767.57, while the Nasdaq ended stronger by 404.54 points or 2.3 percent, at 18,188.59.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders reacted to reports President Donald Trump plans to hold back some of the reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on April 2nd.

A report from the Wall Street Journal said Trump is narrowing his approach to the tariffs, likely omitting a set of industry-specific tariffs.

Bloomberg also said Trump’s coming wave of tariffs is poised to be more targeted than the barrage he has occasionally threatened, citing aides and allies.

Semiconductor and networking stocks had a very good outing. Shares from steel, banking, retail and airline sectors also closed mostly higher.

Tesla soared nearly 12 percent. Advanced Micro Devices, United Airlines Holdings, FedEx, Moderna, Ross Stores, Dollar Tree, Delta Airlines and Microchip Technology gained 4 to 7 percent.

Meta, Texas Instruments, Amazon, Morgan Stanley, Home Depot, Eli Lilly, Nvidia and Citigroup all gained more than 3 percent.

American Express, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Alphabet, Visa and Apple also closed with strong gains.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.48 to $69.59 a barrel after jumping $0.83 to $69.11 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after edging down $5.80 to $3,015.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $5.80 to $3,021.40 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.00 yen compared to the 150.70 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0817 compared to yesterday’s $1.0801.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as investors awaited greater clarity on the next round of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump said there will be “flexibility” on his reciprocal tariff plan but announced that the United States will soon implement new tariffs on a range of products, including cars, aluminum, and steel – adding to investor anxiety in the face of global conflicts and economic instability.

The dollar index was at a three-week high and gold edged up slightly, while oil held an overnight gain as Trump threatened to impose 25 percent “secondary tariffs” on countries importing Venezuelan oil, including India and China, starting April 2nd.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 3,369.98 after a choppy session on concerns over the effectiveness of China’s stimulus measures in offsetting new U.S. tariffs.

The People’s Bank of China said on Monday that it would allow qualified banks to pay different interest rates for the loans, known as the medium-term lending facility (MLF), signaling a greater willingness to ease monetary policy.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.4 percent to 23,344.25 as technology stocks came under selling pressure following Xiaomi Corp.’s $5.5 billion share sale.

Japanese markets eked out modest gains amid optimism that the U.S. reciprocal tariffs would be narrower than feared.

The Nikkei 225 Index rose 0.5 percent to 37,780.54, snapping a three-day losing streak. The broader Topix Index settled 0.2 percent higher at 2,797.52.

The yen weakened against other major currencies even as minutes from BoJ’s January 23-24 meeting revealed a growing consensus among policymakers that further tightening would be appropriate.

Seoul stocks fell, with the Kospi ending down 0.6 percent at 2,615.81. Heavyweight Samsung Electronics dropped 1.2 percent as co-CEO Han Jong-Hee passed away at 63 due to cardiac arrest.

Hyundai Motor Co. shares rallied 3.3 percent. The company announced plans to invest $21 billion in the U.S. through 2028, raising expectations the company may be able to avoid higher U.S. tariffs.

Australian markets gave up earlier gains to end on a flat note ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ pre-election federal budget. Miners declined, offsetting gains in the information technology sector.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index climbed 0.5 percent to 12,184.51.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly higher on Tuesday, as a survey showed German business morale rose in line with forecasts in March after a successful vote on an historic change to the country’s debt borrowing rules.

The French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.3 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.8 percent.

BMW, Mercedes Benz and Volkswagen have risen as industry data showed Tesla’s European sales slumped just over 40 percent in February, marking a second straight month dismal sales performance for the company run by Elon Musk.

Fuchs, a lubricant supplier, has also moved sharply higher after naming a new president for its North American operations.

British oil major Shell has also jumped after it announced plans to increase shareholder distributions, prioritize share buybacks and reduce spending.

Meanwhile, TAG Immobilien shares have tumbled despite the German property firm ending 2024 on a strong financial footing.

Home improvement company Kingfisher has also plummeted more than 12 percent after reporting a fall in its annual profit.

Swiss logistics company Kuehne und Nagel has also slumped after issuing EBIT guidance for 2025 that fell short of estimates.

U.S. Economic News

Standard & Poor’s is scheduled to release its report on home prices in major metropolitan areas in the month of January at 9 am ET.

At 9:05 am ET, New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams is due to deliver opening remarks before the 2025 New York Fed Regional and Community Banking Conference.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new home sales in the month of February at 10 am ET. New home sales are expected to climb to an annual rate of 680,000 in February after plunging to a rate of 657,000 in January.

Also at 10 am ET, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of March. The consumer confidence index is expected to slump to 94.2 in March after tumbling to 98.3 in February.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $69 billion worth of two-year notes at 1 pm ET.