The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open on Monday, with stocks likely to move back to the downside after ending last Friday’s highly volatile session mostly higher.
Concerns about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff policies may continue to weigh on Wall Street amid increasing worries the U.S. is headed for a recession.
In a Fox News interview on Sunday, Trump declined to rule out the possibility of a recession following his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China.
“There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America,” Trump told the “Sunday Morning Futures” program.
However, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to the release of some key U.S. economic data in the coming days.
Reports on consumer and producer price inflation are likely to be in focus along with readings on consumer sentiment and inflation expectations.
Stocks saw significant volatility over the course of the trading session on Friday, as the major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing firmly positive.
The major averages came under pressure after initially showing a lack of direction, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hitting five-month intraday lows before rebounding in afternoon trading.
The major averages held onto their gains going into the close of trading. The Nasdaq advanced 126.97 points or 0.7 percent to 18,196.22, the S&P 500 climbed 31.68 points or 0.6 percent to 5,770.20 and the Dow rose 222.64 points or 0.5 percent to 42,801.72.
Despite ending the day higher, the major averages all posted steep losses for the week. The Nasdaq plunged by 3.5 percent, the S&P 500 tumbled by 3.1 percent and the Dow slumped by 2.4 percent.
The volatility on Wall Street came following the release of a closely watched Labor Department report showing employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February.
The report said non-farm payroll employment climbed by 151,000 jobs in February after rising by a downwardly revised 125,000 jobs in January.
Economists had expected employment to grow by 160,000 jobs compared to the addition of 143,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The report also said the unemployment crept up to 4.1 percent in February from 4.1 percent in January, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
While the report added to recent concerns about the strength for the economy, the data may also have generated some optimism about the outlook for interest rates.
Bargain hunting may have contributed to the afternoon recovery, which came even though Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank does not “need to be in a hurry” to adjusted interest rates amid uncertainty about the effects of President Donald Trump’s policy changes.
Powell argued during remarks at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2025 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum that the Fed is “well positioned to wait for greater clarity” about the impact of Trump’s policy changes.
Semiconductor stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the session, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 3.2 percent after hitting a seven-month intraday low in late morning trading.
Interest rate-sensitive utilities and telecom stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, driving both the Dow Jones Utility Average and the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 2.0 percent.
Oil producer stocks also saw considerable strength amid a notable increase by the price of crude oil, while significant weakness remained visible among airline and retail stocks.
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