U.S. stock futures were moving higher Wednesday in a holiday-shortened session, though losses across other global markets due to trade tensions could make those gains tough to hang onto.
American stock markets and the bond market are shut for the Independence Day holiday, and there are no economic releases expected, as federal agencies are closed. Volumes may be lower than usual for futures trading, as well.
Read: Which markets are closed on July Fourth?
What are markets doing?Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMU8, +0.26% rose 64 points, or 0.3%, to 24,277, while S&P 500 futures ESU8, +0.29% added 8.45 points, or 0.3%, to 2,722. Nasdaq-100 futures NQU8, +0.31% put on 27 points, or 0.4%, to 7,050.75.
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.54% closed 132.36 points, or 0.5%, lower at 24,174.82. The S&P 500 SPX, -0.49% ended down 0.5%, with the technology sector leading the declines with a 1.4% drop, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.86% declined 0.9%. Trading volumes were lower than normal ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, and markets closed three hours earlier than normal.
The Russell 2000 index RUT, +0.32% of small-cap stocks defied the general trend, closing higher, up 5.33 points, or 0.3%, to 1,660.42.
What is driving the market?Tuesday’s losses for U.S. stocks accelerated toward the end of the session, and Asia picked up the baton on losses on Wednesday, as trade war worries persisted.
China reportedly plans to begin imposing tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods from midnight Friday Beijing time, and the Trump administration’s tariffs on up to $50 billion in Chinese imports are expected to kick in the same day. However, China’s tariffs will begin 12 hours sooner because of the time difference.
Two events that kept trade tensions high in the U.S. on Tuesday rippled though into Asia — the Trump administration’s attempt to block China Mobile CHL, -0.70% 0941, +0.51% from operating in the U.S. market, and the Chinese blocking Micron Technology Inc. MU, -5.51% from selling some of its memory chips in China.
Read: How will investors know if there is a full-blown trade war? Here’s what Wall Street says
The European Union, meanwhile, may be looking at a way to broker an international trade deal to cut auto tariffs and take remove some tensions from the global trade picture, the Financial Times reported.
And: These 3 airlines to suffer most from growing trade dispute, analyst says
What are strategists saying?““The biggest risks to the technology sector are regulation and global semiconductor disruption from an escalating trade war. At this point, the probabilities for both scenarios having major impacts on the technology sector in the short term are low,” said Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, in a note to clients.
What are other markets doing?Asian stock markets finished with losses, with the tech-heavy China Shenzhen ChiNext Composite 399106, -1.96% tumbling 2.6%. Equities in Europe were mixed.
The dollar DXY, +0.06% was flat, while gold prices GCQ8, +0.19% rose modestly to $1,258.30 an ounce. Crude oil CLQ8, -0.34% prices slipped to under $74 a barrel.
