Investing.com - U.S. stock futures tick lower after equities on Wall Street rose in the prior session on hopes that an expected U.S. tariff announcement next week will be less severe than anticipated. Still, President Donald Trump says he plans to limit exceptions to the upcoming levies. Elsewhere, investors are keeping an eye on a raft of corporate earnings and gauging both U.K. inflation data and the impact of a naval ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
1. Futures inch lower
U.S. stock futures hovered below the flatline on Wednesday, as investors weighed President Trump's tariff plans and looked ahead to a fresh batch of corporate earnings.
By 04:31 ET (08:31 GMT), the Dow futures contract had dipped by 45 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures had fallen by 8 points 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had slipped by 37 points or 0.2%.
The main averages eked out gains on Tuesday, with markets breathing a sigh of relief after recent media reports suggested that Trump's anticipated April 2 tariffs would be more limited than expected.
But positive sentiment was counterbalanced by a downbeat Conference Board survey showing a decline in consumer confidence. A separate measure of nonmanufacturing activity from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve was also negative, with demand dented by worries around intensifying inflationary pressures.
2. Trump on tariffs
Trump has said that he will seek to limit exceptions to his plans to impose more trade tariffs, as his April 2 deadline for reciprocal duties approaches.
The president told Newsmax in a Tuesday evening interview that he did not “want to have too many exceptions” to his upcoming levies, which he has previously threatened could match foreign duties placed on U.S. goods.
“I’ll probably be more lenient than reciprocal, because if I was reciprocal, that would be very tough for people,” Trump said.
Recent reports have suggested Trump’s measures may be more targeted than originally thought, aiming at about 15 countries that the White House believes have a trade imbalance with the U.S. Trump is also expected to impose tariffs on the automotive, pharmaceutical, and semiconductor sectors, although it was unclear whether these will be revealed on April 2.
Fears over the broader impact of Trump’s tariffs have battered global markets recently, although the rout appeared to be easing somewhat this week. Economists and business have warned that the levies may drive up inflation and drag down growth in the U.S. and beyond.
3. Earnings ahead
Traders will be keeping tabs on Wednesday on a slate of corporate returns due out prior to the opening bell on Wall Street.
Online pet food retailer Chewy (NYSE:CHWY), budget retailer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR), uniform provider Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS), and payrolls service Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) are set to unveil their latest earnings.
Cintas and Paychex, in particular, are tipped to provide some insight into the state of employment trends at businesses across the U.S., analysts at Vital Knowledge said in a note to clients.
Any commentary from Dollar Tree around the outlook for low-income consumers will be in focus as well, especially as economic indicators point to waning sentiment around the economy among these shoppers, the analysts flagged. However, they noted that Dollar Tree rival Dollar General's (NYSE:DG) results were not as bad as feared.
4. U.K. inflation slows in February
U.K. inflation advanced less than expected in February, providing something of a relief to Chancellor Rachel Reeves as she prepared to deliver her Spring Statement to parliament.
Annual consumer price inflation rose 2.8% in February, compared to the 3.0% logged in the prior month. The figure was below expectations but still considerably above the Bank of England’s 2.0% medium-term target.
The monthly rate rose 0.4%, above the 0.1% decrease seen in January.
Analysts had expected the CPI to rise 3.0% on an annual basis, and 0.5% on the month.
Core CPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.4% on a monthly basis, with the annual rate at 3.5%, from 3.7% in the prior month.
5. Oil edges higher
Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday, continuing to rise on supply concerns as well as a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories.
But gains were capped after the U.S. reached deals with both Ukraine and Russia to cease attacks at sea and against energy targets. Washington has also agreed to call for the lifting of some sanctions on Moscow, which could lead to an influx of crude supply into global markets.
Both benchmarks hit their highest in three weeks in the previous session, boosted by renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports.
Also helping the tone were figures from the American Petroleum Institute which showed that U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels last week, a bigger drop than expected. An official U.S. government report on crude inventories from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the session.
