U.S. stock futures declined Friday evening as investors weighed the impact of newly announced tariffs from former President Donald Trump, disappointing earnings from Amazon, and awaited key labor market data.
As of 05:55 ET, Dow Jones futures were down 375 points (-0.9%), S&P 500 futures lost 55 points (-0.9%), and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 218 points (-0.9%).
Markets ended lower in the previous session, pulling back from earlier gains, as concerns over trade tensions eclipsed strong quarterly results from Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
Trump Unveils Sweeping New Tariffs
Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing a wave of new tariffs—some as high as 50%—on dozens of countries, marking the arrival of his long-promised “reciprocal tariff” policy after prolonged delays.
Major economies like the European Union, Japan, and South Korea will face 15% duties, while countries running trade surpluses with the U.S. will see 10% tariffs. Brazil faces a 50% levy, and Canadian goods not in compliance with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be taxed at 35%.
The tariffs are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on August 7. Meanwhile, Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a 90-day extension to continue trade negotiations.
Amazon Falls on Soft Cloud Outlook; Apple Rises on Strong iPhone Sales
In corporate news, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) shares dropped in premarket trading after issuing weaker-than-expected operating income guidance for the current quarter. Amazon Web Services (AWS), its key cloud division, posted $30.9 billion in revenue—a 17.5% year-over-year gain that narrowly beat expectations but failed to impress given concerns over potential market share losses.
In contrast, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares jumped after the company beat third-quarter earnings estimates, driven by stronger-than-anticipated iPhone sales in China and record-breaking services revenue.
More earnings reports are expected Friday from Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Colgate-Palmolive, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and Kimberly-Clark.
All Eyes on July Jobs Report
Investors are now focused on Friday’s U.S. employment report, a key indicator of labor market strength. Economists expect 106,000 new jobs were added in July, down from 147,000 in June, with unemployment projected to rise slightly to 4.2% from 4.1%.
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting, despite Trump’s pressure to cut rates to stimulate growth. While the job market has shown resilience, inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target, and early signs suggest Trump’s tariffs may be contributing to higher prices for some trade-sensitive goods.
Oil Prices Ease After Tariff News
Crude prices edged lower Friday as traders assessed the potential economic drag of expanded tariffs.
At 05:55 ET, Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to $71.47 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.4% to $69.01 per barrel. Both benchmarks retreated slightly after jumping nearly 1% on Thursday in reaction to the new trade measures, which included duties on countries such as Canada, India, and Taiwan.
Despite the modest decline, both contracts remain on track for weekly gains of around 5%, supported by Trump’s earlier threats to sanction buyers of Russian oil—particularly China and India—in an effort to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
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