U.S. stock index futures were little changed early Tuesday as traders awaited a week packed with major earnings releases, central bank decisions, and key geopolitical developments. President Donald Trump is visiting Japan as part of a broader Asian tour, fueling optimism that his upcoming summit with Xi Jinping in South Korea could pave the way for a U.S.–China trade agreement.
Markets are also looking ahead to UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s (NYSE:UNH) results and a major round of layoffs at Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), while gold continues to lose ground as risk sentiment improves.
Futures hover near flatline
U.S. equity futures showed minimal movement, with Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq 100 contracts flat at 03:50 ET and S&P 500 down just 4 points, or 0.1%.
Wall Street ended Monday with record highs for the second straight session, supported by expectations that the Trump–Xi meeting will ease tariff tensions. Investors are betting the two sides will finalize a framework to avoid further U.S. import tariffs and relax Chinese export controls on rare earth materials. As a result, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has fallen to its lowest level in nearly a month.
In corporate news, Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) surged 11% after announcing plans to launch two AI processors for data centers in 2026.
Trump meets Takaichi in Tokyo
Ahead of his highly anticipated meeting with Xi, Trump is making several stops across Asia. On Tuesday, he met with Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo. The two leaders signed a framework deal to secure rare earth supplies — a move aimed at reducing dependency on China for key minerals used in semiconductors and electric vehicles.
While neither Trump nor Takaichi mentioned China directly, the deal aligns with broader U.S. efforts to diversify supply chains away from Beijing. Japan reaffirmed its commitment to a previously announced $550 billion investment package targeting U.S. industries such as shipbuilding, agriculture, and energy.
UnitedHealth earnings in focus
Earnings season continues in full swing, with health insurer UnitedHealth reporting before the opening bell. Analysts are keen to hear from CEO Stephen Hemsley on his turnaround strategy for the company.
UnitedHealth has been under pressure from rising medical costs and increased regulatory scrutiny over prior authorization practices. The issue intensified after the high-profile killing of one of its executives last year, which led to industrywide pledges to revise patient care policies.
Later in the day, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) are also scheduled to release results, followed by tech heavyweights Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), and Amazon later this week.
Amazon to cut 30,000 jobs — Reuters
Amazon is preparing to slash around 30,000 corporate jobs as part of a major cost-cutting effort, according to Reuters.
The layoffs, nearly 10% of its corporate workforce, would be the biggest since 2022, when Amazon eliminated 27,000 roles. Notifications are expected to go out on Tuesday. The cuts are expected to hit divisions including podcasting, communications, and devices, and may also extend to Amazon Web Services. CEO Andy Jassy has warned previously that AI-driven efficiency changes could lead to further workforce reductions.
Gold falls as risk appetite improves
Gold extended its decline Tuesday as easing U.S.–China tensions reduced safe-haven demand ahead of a critical Federal Reserve System meeting. Spot gold fell 1.6% to $3,915.67 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures lost 2.3% to $3,928.26.
The metal fell more than 3% on Monday to a two-week low and is down roughly 10% from its record high of $4,381.29 reached last week.
“Even after [Monday’s] correction, gold is still up more than 50% this year, underpinned by strong ETF demand and central bank buying amid diversification,” analysts at ING Group wrote. “The recent price pullback could even be seen by some central banks as a chance to increase their holdings,” they added.
The Fed begins its two-day policy meeting later Tuesday and is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis-point rate cut on Wednesday. While rate cuts typically benefit gold, markets have largely priced in the move, potentially limiting further upside for the metal.