The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Thursday, with stocks likely to see further downside following the pullback seen over the course of the previous session.

Lingering uncertainty about trade may weigh on Wall Street amid a lack of details about the U.S.-China trade deal announced on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump told reporters he would send letters to other U.S. trade partners in about two weeks outlining new tariff rates.

Trump also indicated he would be willing to extend the 90-day pause on tariffs set for early next month but said he doesn’t think it will be necessary.

Selling pressure may also be generated amid geopolitical concerns due to rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

A senior Iranian security official said the Islamic Republic is at its “highest level of military readiness” and warned any act of aggression by the United States or Israel would be met with a swift and unexpected response.

Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region.

After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages pulled back well off their early highs and the session in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 99.11 points or 0.5 percent to 19,615.88, the S&P 500 dipped 16.57 points or 0.3 percent to 6,022.24 and the Dow edged down 1.10 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 42,865.77.

The downturn on Wall Street may have reflected profit taking after the early advance lifted the major averages to their best intraday levels in over three months.

The early strength in the markets came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. consumer prices increased by slightly less than expected in the month of May.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index inched up by 0.1 percent in May after rising by 0.2 percent in April. Economists had expected another 0.2 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 2.4 percent in May from 2.3 percent in April. The annual rate of consumer price growth was expected to speed up to 2.5 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices still crept up by 0.1 percent in May after edging up by 0.2 percent in April. Economists had expected core consumer prices to rise by another 0.2 percent.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth in May was unchanged from the previous month at 2.8 percent, while economists had expected the annual rate of core consumer price growth to accelerate to 2.9 percent.

Buying interest was also generated after U.S. and Chinese officials announced an agreement in principle on a framework to ease trade disputes between the two economic superpowers.

The plan is subject to approval by President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters.

Without specifying the terms of the framework, Lutnick indicated that both sides agreed to lift export controls on key goods and technologies.

In a subsequent post on Truth Social, Trump said the deal calls on China to supply full magnets and “any necessary rare earths” up front.

“WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%,” Trump added. “RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT!”

Airline stocks showed a substantial move to the downside over the course of the session, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 3.4 percent.

Significant weakness also emerged among steel stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Housing and retail stocks also saw notable weakness as the day progressed, while energy stocks turned in a strong performance amid a surge by the price of crude oil.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are tumbling $1.10 to $67.05 a barrel after soaring $3.17 to $68.15 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after inching up $0.30 to $3,343.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $65 to $3,408.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 143.35 yen versus the 144.56 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1614 compared to yesterday’s $1.1487.

Asia

Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday as a new U.S.-China trade deal provided few concrete details.

Talks in London aimed at cooling tensions between the countries ended in a “deal,” according to U.S. President Donald Trump. The Chinese side did not disclose any progress, resulting in a fragile truce.

Trump’s new threat that he would send letters to trading partners in the next week or two setting unilateral tariff rates and heightened tensions in the Middle East also kept investors on edge.

The dollar was under pressure ahead of U.S. producer price index data for May. Gold ticked higher in Asian trading, while oil prices fell about 1 percent after having hit their highest level in over two months.

Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region.

A senior Iranian security official said the Islamic Republic is at its “highest level of military readiness” and warned any act of aggression by the United States or Israel would be met with a swift and unexpected response.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally higher at 3,402.66 as the absence of specific details on the trade truce kept markets guessing.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.4 percent to 24,035.38, with tech and EV stocks tumbling on trade and Middle East concerns.

Japanese markets ended lower as a firmer yen weighed on export-related stocks. The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 0.7 percent at 38,173.09, while the broader Topix Index settled 0.2 percent lower at 2,782.97. Automakers Honda, Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota fell between 0.9 percent and 1.5 percent.

Seoul stocks eked out modest gains to extend the winning streak for a seventh consecutive session, driven by big gains in the defense and energy sectors.

The Kospi rose 0.5 percent to 2,920.03. Hanwha Aerospace, Hyundai Rotem, Hanwha Ocean and Doosan Enerbility surged 5-7 percent.

Australian markets reversed course to end lower after a sell-off in mining stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.3 percent to 8,565.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.3 percent lower at 8,796.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index edged up by 0.3 percent to 12,649.10.

Europe

European stocks have moved mostly lower on Thursday, with U.S.-China trade tensions and escalating tensions in the Middle East keeping investors worried.

There was no relief from the U.S.-China trade truce as the much-hyped framework agreement lacked specifics.

Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed diminished confidence in reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, emphasizing that Iran must not acquire nuclear weapons.

Also, the U.S. has initiated a partial evacuation of its embassy in Iraq and authorized voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait, citing heightened security concerns.

The pan European STOXX 600 Index is down by 0.5 percent after declining 0.3 percent on Wednesday.

The German DAX Index is down by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent, although the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has bucked the downtrend and risen by 0.2 percent.

The British pound edged lower on rate cut bets after official data showed the U.K. economy shrank more than expected in April largely reflecting a fall in services output.

Real GDP declined 0.3 percent month-on-month in April, following a growth of 0.2 percent in March.

This was the biggest fall since October 2023. Analysts had expected GDP to drop marginally by 0.1 percent.

Hexagon AB has moved to the downside after it announced an agreement to acquire France’s APEI, a company specializing in aerial mapping capabilities.

Airbus SE has also declined after making a bold prediction about the future of aviation. It was said the global commercial aircraft fleet will double in size to almost 50,000 planes over the next 20 years.

Travel-related stocks are also moving lower after weak airfare data from the United States and amid concerns about rising fuel costs.

On the other hand, supermarket chain Tesco has moved sharply higher as its first quarter sales beat estimates.

Halma has also jumped. The health and safety device maker lifted its organic revenue growth guidance for fiscal year 2026 after annual adjusted pretax profit beat expectations.

U.S. Economic News

After reporting an unexpected decrease by U.S. producer prices in the previous month, the Labor Department released a report Thursday showing producer prices crept slightly higher in the month of May.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand inched up by 0.1 percent after slipping by a revised 0.2 percent in April.

Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.4 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of growth by producer prices accelerated to 2.6 percent in May from 2.5 percent in April, in line with economist estimates.

The Labor Department also released a separate report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in flat in the week ended June 7th.

The report said initial jobless claims in at 248,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised level. Economists had expected jobless claims to dip to 240,000 from the 247,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average crept up to 240,250, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 235,250.

With the uptick, the four-week moving average reached its highest level since hitting 245,000 in the week ended August 26, 2023.

At 11 am ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the details of this month’s auction of twenty-year bonds.

The Treasury Department is also due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $22 billion worth of thirty-year bonds at 1 pm ET.




Trade Uncertainty, Geopolitical Concerns May Weigh On Wall Street

2025-06-12 12:59:32

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