U.S. stock futures were mixed early Thursday as investors processed another volatile session driven by escalating U.S.-China trade tensions and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s stark remarks on the inflationary risks of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
In premarket trading, the Nasdaq rose 0.6% and S&P 500 futures edged up 0.34%, while Dow futures sank 1.5%. UnitedHealth (UNH) shares were down a staggering 20% before market after missing estimates.
Alongside UnitedHealth, Thursday’s earnings slate also includes reports from Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Netflix (NFLX), American Express (AXP), and homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI).
Wall Street observers will leaf through a fresh round of corporate results as they continue to navigate what increasingly feels like a geopolitical storm without a forecast.
But Wednesday’s sell-off suggests that any sense of stability or that things are business as usual is eroding. As the market moved toward close, the major indexes posted their steepest declines in weeks. The S&P 500 fell 2.2%, the Dow dropped more than 700 points, and the Nasdaq plunged over 3%. In individual names, Apple (AAPL) fell 3.9%, Tesla (TSLA) dropped nearly 5%, and Nvidia (NVDA) plunged almost 7%.
The drop came despite a stronger-than-expected March retail sales report and earnings beats from several blue-chip names, further underscoring just how much markets are being driven by abrupt policy shifts rather than fundamentals. It may all sound abstract — until you consider that Apple, Nvidia, and their peers are among the most widely held stocks in U.S. retirement funds. If you have a 401(k), odds are good you’re along for the ride.
On Wednesday, Fed Chair Powell reiterated the Fed’s two-part mission to foster price stability and maximum employment, warned that tariffs are likely to deliver both upward pressure on inflation and drag on growth, and suggested he would not bow to political pressure.
Powell’s comments may be extra relevant because some commentators have speculated that the market selloff may not be a bug but a feature. The theory: By putting pressure on corporate margins and stoking uncertainty, the White House was attempting to engineer the very conditions that would force the Fed to cut rates — and failing that, is now seeking to deflect blame for the economic fallout of its own policies.
Then again, attributing coherent strategy to what’s often a chaotic stream of mixed signals, offhand remarks, and rapidly shifting narratives may be a reach. Whether there’s a real plan — or just a series of improvisations with global consequences — is anyone’s guess.
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