Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 13, 2025, in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Tuesday night, following a volatile session for stocks, as traders digested the latest developments in the U.S.-China trade war.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were trading up 11 points, near the flatline. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also little changed.
The moves followed a tumultuous day of trading for all three indexes.
The S&P 500 attempted to stage a comeback from Tuesday’s lows of the day, but ultimately closed down 0.2% after President Donald Trump threatened China with a cooking oil embargo late in the session as retaliation for Beijing not buying U.S. soybeans. On Tuesday, the benchmark was up as much as 0.4% and down as much as 1.5%.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% to end the day, although it was down 2.1% at its lows. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend to rise 0.4%, or 202.88 points, although it had fallen as much 1.3% on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday’s news was the latest ramp-up in trade tensions between the U.S. and China. On Monday night, China put new sanctions on five U.S. subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. This followed Trump’s threats last Friday to place an additional 100% tariff on any goods coming from China after Beijing imposed strict export controls on rare earth minerals. Trump’s tariffs could go live on Nov. 1 or sooner, depending on China’s next move, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC Tuesday.
“A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer said. “They are the ones who have chosen to make this major escalation.”
While no major economic releases are on the calendar for Wednesday, investors will be looking forward to another big day of corporate earnings from the major U.S. banks. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial, Abbott Labs and ASML are among the names set to report earnings Wednesday before the bell.
But even if earnings come in better than expected, Wall Street veteran Art Hogan believes that stocks will likely trade sideways from here, wavering near all-time highs as long as trade war uncertainty persists. The chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management also said the U.S. government shutdown is another headwind for the market.
“The longer it lasts, the more economic damage it does upfront. So that’s affecting confidence. It’s likely going to affect guidance from Corporate America during the conference calls,” he said to CNBC. “Earnings seasons may well be much better than expected across the board, with the usual percentage of companies that beat and raise and all that. I just don’t think that that acts as a tailwind, necessarily, until we get closer to the government reopening and perhaps more clarity on our trade relationship with China.”
