Investing.com — U.S. stock futures edged lower on Monday, signaling a cautious start to December trading.
fell 0.1% to 6,043 points, while fell 0.1% to 20,964 points by 07:02 ET (12:02 GMT). fell 0.1% to 45,0223 points.
Focus on tariffs and Fed policy
Investors are digesting tariff-related comments from President-elect Donald Trump, who stated over the weekend that he would impose 100% tariffs on BRICS nations—including China, Russia, and India—if they pursue a new currency to rival the U.S. dollar. This added a geopolitical edge to market concerns.
“There are a lot of conflicting macro and micro developments for investors to juggle this morning,” Vital Knowledge analysts wrote in a Monday morning note.
“The US equity narrative isn’t shifting dramatically, with favorable year-end/post-election seasonality and momentum running up against rich valuations and questions about how wide the gap will be between Trump 2.0 hope and reality. “
Key economic events ahead
A busy week of data begins Monday with manufacturing activity reports from S&P Global and the Institute for Supply Management, along with October construction spending figures.
Later in the week, November private payrolls and the October job openings report will provide further insights into the labor market.
Fed speakers, including Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams, are scheduled to address the public this week. Investors are also looking for cues from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the central bank’s monetary policy trajectory.
“A hot US jobs report on Friday risks scrambling near-term Fed expectations,” Vital Knowledge analysts commented.
Trump threatens ‘100% tariffs’ against BRICS countries
Trump on Sunday threatened to impose “100% tariffs” on the BRICS bloc of countries, which includes China.
Trump criticized the bloc’s attempts to form its own currency and shift away from the U.S. dollar, threatening to cut the bloc off from U.S. trade over the move. He called for commitments to the dollar from the bloc.
Trump’s latest comments come after he had last week threatened higher import tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada, rattling global markets with the prospect of more protectionist policies in the U.S.
Investors also feared retaliatory measures from U.S. trading partners, especially China, which could spark a renewed trade war between the world’s biggest economies.
Indices at record highs with rate cues in focus
Wall Street indexes surged to record highs in shortened trading on Friday, as investors cheered recent signs of resilience in the economy and also maintained bets that the Fed will cut rates later in December.
Gains were more biased towards economically sensitive sectors, although tech stocks also recouped some recent losses.
The rose 0.6% to a record high of 6,032.4 points, while the rose 0.4% to a peak of 44,910.65 points. The rose 0.8% to 19,218.17 points, but remained below recent record highs.
Focus this week is on commentary from a slew of Fed officials, most notably on Wednesday. Key data for November is also due later in the week, offering up more cues on the labor market.
Powell’s address and the labor data come just weeks before the Fed’s , where the central bank is still expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.
But investors are bracing for a potentially slower pace of rate cuts in 2025, especially amid recent signs of sticky inflation. Trump’s protectionist policies are also expected to underpin inflation in the long term.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article)
