(Reuters) – Wall Street futures jumped on Monday, as investors held out hope for a more measured approach to U.S. tariffs, and awaited economic data for signals on the health of the U.S. economy and inflation.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is likely to exclude a set of sector-specific tariffs while applying reciprocal levies on April 2, according to media reports over the weekend that helped sentiment in early trading.
The main U.S. stock indexes closed slightly higher on Friday and marked weekly gains after Trump hinted at flexibility on a new round of tariffs set to go into effect next month.
Financial markets have whipsawed over the past several weeks as traders have been confronted by fears of a sharp U.S. economic slowdown after Trump announced a series of tariffs last month on some of its main trading partners including China, Mexico and Canada.
However, U.S. stocks appear to have found a floor after weeks-long selloff that pushed the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq down by 10% from their record highs – commonly known as correction.
By 6:10 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 53.75 points, or 0.94%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis climbed 228.5 points, or 1.14% and Dow E-minis added 306 points, or 0.72%.
Investors were also awaiting a slew of economic indicators this week including business activity data for March, weekly jobless claims and the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
S&P Global’s flash PMI readings later in the day are expected to show U.S. manufacturing and services sector activity slowed in March.
Technology stocks led the way higher in premarket trading. Amazon.com rose 1.6%, Nvidia added 1.2% and Apple gained 1%.
Super Micro Computer dipped 3% after a report said Goldman Sachs downgraded the server maker to “sell.”
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
