US pre-open: Futures rise as Trump softens China tariff threat

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Monday after Donald Trump stated trade relations with China "will all be fine". As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.96%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 1.31% and 1.83% higher, respectively.

The Dow Jones closed 878.82 points lower on Friday after Donald Trump stepped up his protectionist trade measures against China, breaking a tariff truce that had been in place for months.

US futures pointed higher on Monday after Donald Trump signalled he may not proceed with a "massive increase of tariffs" on China - a threat that had reignited trade war fears and triggered a $2trn market rout last week.

Vice president JD Vance echoed the shift in tone, stating that the US was open to talks if Beijing was "willing to be reasonable", though he claimed Washington held "far more cards" if not.

The remarks helped steady sentiment after Friday's sharp sell-off, with tech stocks - heavily exposed to Chinese rare earths used in semiconductors and EVs - leading early gains.

However, broader concerns lingered as the Federal government shutdown entered a new week. With a key payroll deadline looming on 15 October, many federal workers face the prospect of missing their next paycheque.

Third-quarter earnings season will kick off tomorrow, with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley all due to report their latest set of quarterly results over the next two days.

No major data points were scheduled for release on Monday.



Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com