Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on March 26, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Stock futures fell Friday morning as investors continue to navigate a volatile global trade landscape.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 31 points, or 0.08%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.16%, while Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.21%.
Investors parsed fresh quarterly results in extended trading. Shares of clothing retailer Gap pulled back more than 14% after a weaker-than-expected second-quarter outlook, while cosmetics stock Ulta Beauty advanced roughly 8% on strong first-quarter results. Dell Technologies gained about 2% on the heels of strong first-quarter revenue.
Back-and-forth trade news on Thursday capped wider gains for the market, with the major averages closing well off their intraday highs. The Court of International Trade on Wednesday night halted the majority of President Donald Trump's tariffs, before granting a stay on Thursday afternoon and allowing the duties to remain in place until next week.
The news is the latest dose of uncertainty for what was an already uneasy market that has contended with macroeconomic concerns tied to tariffs and worry that the shakeup to U.S. trade policy could cause a recession.
Yet stocks are on the verge of closing out May with strong gains. The S&P 500 has added more than 6% this month, while the Nasdaq Composite has surged 10% in that time. The 30-stock Dow has gained about 4% on the month.
"I think as we head into summer that momentum can continue, [but] then that's where the hard data that may catch up to the weaker, soft data, could come into play," Ned Davis Research chief U.S. strategist Ed Clissold told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday. "I think as we move through the second quarter into the third quarter, there's still some good momentum in the market."
For the week, the S&P 500 has advanced about 2%, while the 30-stock Dow is up 1.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has advanced 2.3%.
Investors will also parse a fresh reading of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures index, on Friday.
Asia-Pacific markets fall as U.S. appeals court reinstates Trump tariffs
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Friday, with a slowing U.S. economy, inflation fears and uncertainties from the judicial developments surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs weighing on investor sentiment.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 declined 1.22% to end the day at 37,965.10, while the broader Topix index moved down 0.37% to 2,801.57 as investors parsed a slew of data releases.
Tokyo's core inflation reading for April, which captures consumer costs excluding fresh food, climbed 3.6% from a year ago, its highest level since January 2023.
In South Korea, the Kospi index dropped 0.84% to close at 2,697.67 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 0.26% to 734.35.
Mainland China's CSI 300 index ended the day 0.48% lower at 3,840.23, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 1.2% to 23,289.77.
Meanwhile, India's benchmark Nifty 50 pulled back 0.22% while the BSE Sensex inched down 0.3% as at 1.40 p.m. Indian Standard Time.
Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to end the day at 8,434.70.
— Amala Balakrishner
Auto stocks in Asia join the sell-off
Auto stocks in Asia are feeling the heat of the reinstatement of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Mazda Motor led losses in Japanese automakers, plunging 3.48% as at 2.23 p.m. Singapore time.
Other stocks that logged losses include Nissan Motor which retreated 2.47%, Mitsubishi Motors which fell 2.27% and Honda Motor which was down 1.37%.
Over in South Korea, Kia Corp dropped 3.76% while Hyundai Motor lost 2.72%.
Indian automakers were also trading in negative territory with the Nifty Auto index down 0.99%.
Among the worst performers were Bajaj Auto which fell 2.5%, Ashok Leyland which dropped 2.11% and Mahindra and Mahindra which lost 1.46%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Asia's tech giants fall on tariff concerns
Asian tech stocks fell Friday amid increased concerns over the the reinstatement of U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs by the appeals court.
In Japan, sharp declines were seen in Lasertec which had plunged 4.19% and Renesas Electronics which retreated 3.98% as at 2.18 p.m. Singapore time.
Losses were also seen in Advantest Corp which dropped 3.89% and SoftBank Group which lost 3.33%.
Over in South Korea, chipmaker SK Hynix had declined 3.77%, while Samsung Electronics moved up 0.71%.
Tech companies in Hong Kong were in the red, with Robosense and Nio leading losses with declines of 5.57% and 5.78% respectively.
Sharp losses were seen in Xpeng which lost 4.79%, BYD which fell 5.58%, Alibaba which lost 4.4% and NetEase which dropped 4.2%. Losses were also seen in Baidu, which was down 3.6%, Tencent which fell 2.49% and Xiaomi which dropped 2.32%.
— Amala Balakrishner
Hong Kong shares plunge on reinstatement of Trump tariffs
Hong Kong stocks fell Friday as markets digested the reinstatement of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, a day after a court ruling blocking them.
The Hang Seng Index was down 1.48% as of 12.34 p.m. local time. Many major Chinese companies are listed on the index, which is up more than 15% since the start of the year. Its losses were led by the technology, consumer cyclical and education services sectors.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Hang Seng Tech Index was last seen down 2.55%.
Some of the worst performers on the index include data centre firm GDS Holdings, which plunged 7.51%, Horizon Robotics, which fell 5.94% and BYD Electronic International, which dropped 4.98%.
The Hang Seng Tech Index ETF shows the day's moves:
Hang Seng Tech ETF
— Amala Balakrishner
Investor pessimism rebounds and bullishness fades in latest AAII survey
Pessimism rebounded in the latest survey of Main Street investors by the American Association of Individual Investors. Bearish opinion toward stocks over the next six months grew to 41.9% this week from 36.7% last week, above its historical average of 31.0% for the 26th time in 28 weeks.
Bullish sentiment toward the short-term outlook dropped to 32.9% of poll respondents, down from 37.7% last week and below its historical average of 37.5% for the 16th time in 17 weeks.
In a special question, nearly 64% of those surveyed said "tariffs, the economy and/or inflation" are the factor most influencing their six-month outlook for stocks, trailed by corporate earnings (11%), valuations (10%) and monetary policy and interest rates (9%).
— Scott Schnipper
Inflation data on Friday expected to show Fed's preferred gauge still above 2%
The April index for personal consumption expenditures is expected to show inflation still above 2% when it is released Friday morning.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect PCE to rise 0.1% month over month and 2.2% year over year. For core PCE, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, projections call for a 0.1% monthly increase and 2.6% for the year. Core PCE is the measure of inflation generally favored by the Federal Reserve.
Additionally, Vanguard economist Josh Hirt said in a note to keep an eye on potential "upward revisions to January and March PCEs due to [producer price index] revisions of hospitals, physicians, and insurance services."
Gene Goldman, Cetera CIO, told CNBC that he expects a cool inflation reading on Friday but doesn't think it will generate much market reaction. He said short-term data is noisy and still being impacted by factors like companies trying to front-run the tariffs by importing extra supplies and inventory earlier this year.
— Jesse Pound
Stocks making the biggest moves after hours
Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading.
- Gap — The apparel stock plummeted more than 16% as lackluster second-quarter revenue guidance overshadowed an earnings beat for Q1. Gap expects Q2 revenue to remain about flat year over year. Analysts expected a forecast calling for a slight gain.
- Costco — The wholesale retailer reported quarterly results that beat analyst expectations, yet shares were little changed. The company earned $4.28 per share on revenue of $63. 2 billion. Analysts expected a profit of $4.24 per share on revenue of $63.19 billion. Same-store sales growth and gross margins were above estimates as well.
- Dell Technologies — Shares of the technology company gained more than 5% after first-quarter revenue surpassed analyst estimates. Dell reported revenue of $23.38 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG called for $23.14 billion. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures are little changed
Stock futures were little changed on Thursday, as investors await more clarity on U.S. trade policy.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 38 points, or 0.09%. S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%, alongside Nasdaq 100 futures.
— Brian Evans
English (US) ·