US stock futures rose after the Trump administration announced top US officials would meet with their Chinese counterparts this weekend to discuss trade.
Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F), the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F), and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) rose 0.1%
The meeting marks the first major talks between the countries since President Trump hiked tariffs on imports from China to 145% last month. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and trade representative Jamieson Greer will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to meet with Chinese representatives.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
The announcement comes as Wall Street has again become jittery over whether trade deals are imminent or far fetched. Stocks fell for a second day on Tuesday after Trump said he had no plans to speak with Chinese President Xi this week and threatened new duties on foreign movies.
But what kind of approach the US will take in trade negotiations remains unclear. At a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday, Trump suggested he wouldn’t engage in back-and-forth negotiations with countries over tariffs and instead would set terms for deals that trading partners could agree to, or not.
In addition to gripping markets, trade uncertainty loomed large in Tuesday’s corporate earnings. AMD (AMD), Super Micro (SMCI), and Rivian (RIVN) all warned of headwinds to come from Trump’s tariffs in their results. AMD was the only company among the three to see a bump in shares following its report thanks to a bullish sales outlook.
On Wednesday, Wall Street will remain on edge with the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision due. Although the central bank is expected to leave rates unchanged, investors will be anxious to hear from Chair Jerome Powell what could come next for monetary policy in light of Trump’s trade war.
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