U.S. stock futures were trading lower on Wednesday, after advancing for three consecutive sessions. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower in premarket trading.
Investors are reacting cautiously to President Donald Trump‘s mixed tariff signals. While stocks rallied on hints of potential duty reductions, Trump also announced impending tariffs on pharma and auto, along with secondary tariffs on Venezuelan oil and gas buyers. The volatility reflects the market’s sensitivity to the administration’s fluctuating trade stance.
The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.33%, while the two-year yield was at 4.02%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, there is an 88.4% chance that the Federal Reserve will keep the interest rates unchanged during its May meeting.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.15% |
| S&P 500 | -0.12% |
| Dow Jones | -0.16% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.21% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, dropped in premarket on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.18% to $574.44, while the QQQ declined 0.24% to $492.26, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session:
Consumer discretionary, communication services, financials, and energy sectors led a broad market rally on Tuesday, driving U.S. stocks higher.
Whereas, utilities, consumer staples, real estate and health care sectors declined.
On the economic front, the U.S. home prices hit a 20th record high, S&P Case-Shiller showed a 4.1% annual rise in January. March saw a further decline in consumer confidence, according to the Conference Board, with the current conditions index slipping to 92.9, below expectations and marking a fourth consecutive monthly drop.
The Dow Jones index rose 4 points or 0.01% on Tuesday to 42,587.50, whereas the S&P 500 index was up 0.16% at 5,776.65. Nasdaq Composite notched a 0.46% gain to end at 18,271.86, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, declined 0.66% to 2,095.38.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.46% | 18,271.86 |
| S&P 500 | 0.16% | 5,776.65 |
| Dow Jones | 0.01% | 42,587.50 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.66% | 2,095.38 |
Insights From Analysts:
The director of global macro at Fidelity Investments, Jurrien Timmer, highlighted in an X post that the market has gone from “above-trend to on-trend.”
According to his technical analysis, using Bollinger Bands, things are starting to look more balanced again after the S&P 500 index had slipped into the correction.
Technically, things are starting to look more balanced again. The chart below shows detrended Bollinger Bands for the S&P 500. That's a fancy way of showing how many deviations the market is from its trendline. We were at +1 and are now at zero. In other words, the market has… pic.twitter.com/4NKhFIuOgk
— Jurrien Timmer (@TimmerFidelity) March 25, 2025
Morgan Stanley’s chief equity strategist, Mike Wilson, maintained a 6,500 price target on the S&P 500 index, with support at 5,500 points.
He was overweight on financials, industrials, energy and utilities. Whereas, he was underweight the Consumer in all styles.
Morgan Stanley's chief equity strategist Mike Wilson📢 Maintains 6,500 $SPX price target📢Overweight Financials, Industrials, Energy, Utes📢Underweight the Consumer in all styles📢5,500 support holds unless more severe slowing in economy, which is not our base case… pic.twitter.com/RczZwCSGtD
— Seth Golden (@SethCL) March 25, 2025
Wilson, in his weekly note, said that a Fed put is more likely than a Trump put.
“Investors are now very focused on the April 2nd reciprocal tariff deadline. While this catalyst could offer some incremental clarity on tariff rates and countries and products in scope, we think it’s more a starting point for tariff negotiations, as opposed to a clearing event. In short, a Fed put seems closer to being in the money than a Trump put though it probably would require material labor weakness or choppier credit and funding markets,” he stated.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will keep an eye on Wednesday:
Stocks In Focus:
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 0.70% to hover around $69.48 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar declined 0.03% to hover around $3,019.12 per ounce. Its previous record high stood at $3,057.51 per ounce.
Asian markets closed on a mixed note on Wednesday. China’s CSI 300 and India's S&P BSE Sensex index fell in trade. Whereas, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225, and Australia's ASX 200 index advanced. European markets were also mixed in early trade.
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