US stock futures drop as Trump imposes sweeping new tariffs

USA Today

4 days ago

U.S. stock futures are lower, ahead of the key monthly jobs report and after President Donald Trump signed an order imposing sweeping new tariffs on countries across the world.
July's jobs report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET and is expected to show the economy added 100,000 jobs, according to a Dow Jones survey of economists. The unemployment rate is seen edging up to 4.2% from 4.1% in June.
Such a jobs report would be considered a 'Just Right' labor market, said Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research. It would "further push back on growing tariff-relatedrecession concerns, keep the Fed on track for a rate cut in September and further invalidate the stagflation narrative." It also would provide stocks with a reason to extend their recent rally, he said.
Meanwhile, Trump signed an executive order confirming 'reciprocal' tariffs on dozens of countries, with updated duties ranging from 10% to 41%, beginning in seven days. He also said goods that switch means of transport, or are transshipped, to avoid tariffs will face another 40% tax.
Starting Aug. 1, Canada will face a 35% tariff, excluding goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. That's up from 25% previously.
Countries that are not listed in the latest order will face an additional duty of 10%, the statement said.
Earlier, Trump said he's giving Mexico another 90 days to come to a longer term agreement with the United States to avoid higher tariffs.
At 6:15 a.m. ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow fell -0.95%, broad S&P 500 futures slipped -0.97% and tech-heavy Nasdaq futures dropped -1.10%.
Corporate news
Earnings also continue to be key in determining stock market direction. Of the 297 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings through the morning of July 31, 80.8% have topped analyst expectations, according to LSEG Data and Analytics, compared with the 76% beat rate over the past four quarters.
After the market closed, Amazon and Apple -- two so-called Magnificent Seven influential, mega cap tech stocks -- reported results.
Amazon topped Wall Street estimates with its second-quarter results, but its cloud computing growth was disappointing.
In contrast, Apple exceeded second-quarter expectations, including the largest revenue jump since 2021. Sales were helped by strong 13%-plus growth in iPhone sales due to tariff-related buying and popular devices. It projected tariff costs could reach $1.1 billion in the current quarter.
Among non-Magnificent Seven stocks,
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [e-mail] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.