US stock futures little changed after back-to-back gains, tariff optimism
Published 15 April 2025
U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday after two back-to-back days of gains on cautious tariff optimism.
President Donald Trump exempted smartphones, computers and other electronics from a steep reciprocal tariff for now and then floated a temporary exemption for the auto sector to give carmakers time to establish U.S. manufacturing. Investors generally see more narrow, targeted tariffs as positive because those would have a smaller effect on prices and economic growth.
At 6:10 a.m. ET, blue-chip Dow futures gained 0.01%; broad S&P 500 futures added 0.13%; and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures gained 0.28%.
As investors search for more clues on how tariffs could affect the economy, they may turn to corporate earnings. Earnings season kicked off Friday. Before the market opens Tuesday, investors will see results from Bank of America, Citigroup, Johnson & Johnson and PNC Financial. Investors will be looking for clues in forward guidance and executives' comments.
A new Fed Chair?
After the market closed on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Bloomberg interview Trump administration has already been thinking about who will replace Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
With 13 months until Powell’s term is up, Bessent was asked how the Administration thinks about who should lead the Fed. Bessent said “We think about it all of the time. When are we going to start interviewing candidates, that will be sometime in the Fall.”