US pre-open: Futures little changed as Trump confirms Xi meeting

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were pointing to a mixed open ahead of the bell on Thursday Trump confirmed his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping would take place. As of 1155 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.09%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.06% and 0.09% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 334.33 points lower on Wednesday, more than reversing gains recorded in the previous session, as investors rotated out of risk assets amid renewed US-China tensions.

Yesterday's declines followed comments from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said the White House was considering curbs on software exports to China, building on Trump's earlier pledge to restrict "any and all critical software" from 1 November.

Trade relations remained in focus prior to the open on Thursday after Donald Trump said his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping was "scheduled", helping ease investor concerns following Wednesday's sell-off.

In the corporate space, Tesla traded lower in pre-market action after revenues at Elon Musk's electric vehicle firm rose 12% year-on-year, the first increase in three quarters, but recealed that net income had plunged 37% when compared to the same time a year earlier. Tesla cited lower vehicle prices, presumably as part of an effort to compete with Chinese manufacturers, as well as a 50% jump in operating expenses, partly due to artificial intelligence and "other R&D projects".

As far as Thursday's earnings slate goes, T-Mobile, Honeywell, Hasbro and American Airlines will report quarterly figures before the open, while Intel and Ford will publish theirs after the close.

On the macro front, existing home sales data from the National Associaton of Realtors will be published at 1500 BST, while the Kansas Federal Reserve's October manufacturing index will follow at 1600 BST.

Looking ahead, key inflation data, scheduled for release on Friday, was expected to offer further insight into the health of the US economy, with markets widely anticipating a 25 basis point rate cut at the Federal Reserve's late October meeting.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com