Reuters
U.S. stocks looked set to open lower on Friday, snapping a three-day winning streak, as investors digested a disappointing jobs report and grappled with continued trade war fears following President Donald Trump’s proposal of fresh tariffs against China.
Trump announced late Thursday that he was considering tariffs on another $100 billion in Chinese goods, which would triple the amount of imports facing levies.
What are main benchmarks doing?
Paring some of a deeper, earlier loss, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMM8, -0.33% were down 197 points, or 0.8%, to 24,273. S&P 500 futures ESM8, -0.30% dropped 17 points, or 0.7%, to 2,643. Nasdaq-100 futures NQM8, -0.13% fell 44 points, or 0.7%, to 6,554.
The major U.S. stock indexes posted their first three-day gain in a month on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.66% climbing 241 points, or 1%, to 24,505. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.56% rose 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.57% added 0.5%.
Equities fell hard earlier this week, then proceeded to recover, but Friday’s session is promising volatility to which investors are becoming accustomed. With one more session to go, Dow is looking at a gain of 1.7% for the week, while the S&P 500 is poised to put on 0.8%. A weekly advance for the Nasdaq is on the line, with the index up just 0.2% as of Thursday’s close.
Read: Dimon: Investors underestimate threat of ‘drastic action’ by Fed, other central banks
What’s driving markets
Futures markets were already pointing to a lower open even before the disappointing jobs report. The U.S. economy added just 103,000 new jobs in March to mark the smallest increase since last fall and well below the 170,000 forecast by economists polled by MarketWatch. But the latest report on employment still shows the tightest labor market in nearly two decades.
Rather, investors appeared to be focused on a trade battle between the two largest economies.
The White House said in a statement after the market close Thursday that Trump has asked the U.S. Trade Representative to consider an extra $100 billion in Chinese goods to face tariffs and to identify the products that could be targeted.
Read: Republican senator on Trump’s latest tariff threat: ‘This is nuts’
U.S. stock futures immediately tumbled on Thursday’s news, action which continued into Friday’s session, though losses weren’t as severe as in reactions to other, recent trade rumblings. China’s commerce department responded to the latest tariff threat by saying it will respond with countermeasures if needed.
“The Chinese side will follow suit to the end, not hesitate to pay any price, resolutely counterattack and take new comprehensive measures in response,” said a ministry statement via its website, citing an unnamed spokesman. The statement added that China “doesn’t want” a trade war, but is not afraid to fight one.”
“If this trade war comes to pass, it will be an evenly matched total war between China and the U.S. economies, and not some small scuffle. It would be delusional for the U.S. to think it will be victorious at the end of this trade war,” China’s state-run Global Times said in an editorial.
Away from trade, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak to the Economic Club of Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Eastern. Later, San Francisco Fed President John Williams is scheduled to give a speech in Santa Rosa, Calif., at 4 p.m.
Check out: MarketWatch’s Economic Calendar
What are strategists saying?
“While the tariffs story will likely continue to be the main mover of financial markets,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, in a note to clients.
Opinion: Stock guru who called S&P 500 gains sees no new market high before October
What stocks are moving?
Salesforce.com Inc. CRM, -0.66% shares were down 1% in premarket trading after the cloud-computing company confirmed late Thursday it will issue $2.5 billion in bonds to help finance its purchase
Shares of Micron Technology Inc.‘s stock MU, -0.24% slid 3.6% in premarket trading a day after UBS initiated coverage of the semiconductor group with a sell rating. And those analyst said the semiconductor industry will face headwinds this year.
In the same sector, Nvidia Corp. NVDA, -1.26% was down nearly 1% in premarket. Short seller Citron Research on Thursday tweeted that it sees shares falling below $200 soon.
Target Corp. TGT, +1.12% agreed to pay more than $3.7 million to settle a lawsuit over racial bias in screening job applicants. The retailer also said it would overhaul its job-screening guidelines. Shares of the retailer weren’t being actively traded in the premarket.
Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.90% shares slipped 0.8% in premarket. Court documents revealed Thursday that Chief Executive Tim Cook will be deposed on June 27 in chip maker Qualcomm Inc.’s QCOM, -1.00% lawsuit against the iPhone maker. Apple’s stock was down 1.1% in premarket trade.
What are other markets doing?
Asian stocks had a mixed day, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index HSI, +1.11% rising 1% on bets that the latest Trump tariff threat may not develop into any real issue.
After logging strong advances on Thursday, European stocks SXXP, +0.00% fell across the board. Gold futures GCM8, +0.50% eased modestly, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.26% was flat. A pullback for perceived riskier assets took a toll on oil prices CLK8, -0.06% which fell 0.4%.