Stock Futures Point Lower as China Tensions Ramp Up Again; Big Bank Earnings Kick Off

Stock futures pointed lower as trade tensions with China re-escalated Tuesday, a day after indexes rebounded from Friday’s sharp losses, and big banks began reporting third-quarter results. 

Futures associated with the tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were down a respective 1.2%, 0.9%, and 0.5%.

Yesterday, the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up a respective 2.2%, 1.6%, and 1.3% after President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine!” Last Friday, indexes tanked after Trump threatened “massive” tariffs on China.

However, China subsequently imposed sanctions on U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilding firm Hanwha Ocean, and Beijing and Washington began charging additional port fees on each others’ ships.

Gold futures was at $4,150 an ounce after setting a record high of $4,190 earlier Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures fell 2% to $58.20 a barrel. Bitcoin was at $111,500 after trading near $116,000 late Monday afternoon.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.02% after the bond market was closed Monday for the Columbus Day holiday. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was 0.2% higher at 99.41.

In corporate news, banking giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Wells Fargo (WFC) kicked off Q3 earnings season before the bell. JPMorgan stock was down 0.7% after the firm beat analysts’ expectations but CEO Jamie Dimon warned “of uncertainty stemming from complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs and trade uncertainty, elevated asset prices and the risk of sticky inflation.” Shares of Wells Fargo were up 2.5% after topping top- and bottom-line estimates, while those of Goldman Sachs and Citi were down 1% and up 0.5%, respectively.

Shares of Critical Metals (CRML), USA Rare Earth (USAR), and MP Materials (MP) continued their sharp gains since China announced it was tightening rare-earths exports, jumping a respective 26%, 6%, and 7% in premarket trading.

Broadcom (AVGO) stock, which closed 9.9% higher Monday after the chipmaker and OpenAI announced a partnership for 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators, was down about 2.5% before the bell. Shares of fellow chipmakers Micron Technology (MU), Intel (INTC), ON Semiconductor (ON), and Nvidia (NVDA) fell between 2% and 4% each.

General Motors (GM) shares fell about 2% after the automaker said it would take a $1.6 billion charge in its third-quarter results next week related to electric vehicles, including $1.2 billion “as a result of adjustments to our EV capacity.” Shares of rival Ford Motor (F) slipped 1.3% on news it is temporarily cutting production of several models after a fire at a key aluminum supplier.