Stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Monday, giving back ground after turning in a strong performance last week. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.
Renewed trade uncertainty may weigh on the markets following the Supreme Court’s decision last Friday striking down most of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.
Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Saturday that he would raising worldwide tariffs to the “fully allowed” and “legally tested” 15 percent level from the 10 percent he announced shortly after the ruling.
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” Trump said.
Meanwhile, the European Commission issued a statement requesting “full clarity” on the steps the U.S. intends to take following the Supreme Court decision.
The European Commission called the current situation “not conducive” to delivering “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” transatlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides and spelled out in the EU-U.S. Joint Statement of August 2025.
“A deal is a deal,” the European Commission said. “As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honour its commitments set out in the Joint Statement – just as the EU stands by its commitments.”
Shortly after the start of trading, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in the month of December. Factory orders are expected to decrease by 0.7 percent in December after surging by 2.7 percent in November.
After recovering from an initial move to the downside, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Friday but largely maintained a positive bias before eventually finishing the day mostly higher.
The major averages all closed in positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a notable gain. The Nasdaq advanced 203.34 points or 0.9 percent to 22,886.07, the S&P 500 climbed 47.62 points or 0.7 percent to 6,909.51 and the Dow rose 230.81 points or 0.5 percent to 49,625.97.
For the holiday-shortened week, the Nasdaq shot up by 1.5 percent, the S&P 500 jumped by 1.1 percent and the Dow increased by 0.3 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday, with markets in Japan and China closed for holidays. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 2.5 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index slid by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just above the unchanged line and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging up $0.08 to $66.56 a barrel after inching up $0.08 to $66.48 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, after jumping $83.50 to $5,080.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $89.60 to $5,170.50 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.62 yen versus the 155.05 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1795 compared to last Friday’s $1.1780.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Give Back Ground Amid Tariff Uncertainty
2026-02-23 13:57:34
