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Tech led as US stock futures rose on Tuesday, with a China green-light for Nvidia (NVDA) lifting spirits in the wait for a key consumer inflation print and for big banks to kick off earnings season.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) moved up 0.3%, while contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) climbed 0.5%, buoyed by gains for AI chipmaker Nvidia. But Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) slipped, down roughly 0.2% on the heels of closing gains for the major gauges.
Nvidia said it hopes to resume sales of its key AI chips to China soon, having received assurances from the US government that it will be granted licences. The dramatic reversal in the Trump administration’s earlier stance on export curbs — part of its trade standoff with Beijing — helped lift shares almost 5% in premarket.
President Trump’s trade policy also looms over the June consumer inflation report, which is expected to show the first real signs of a tariff-driven uptick on prices when it is released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Consumer Price Index headline reading is forecast to rise 0.3% month over month and 2.4% year over year. Both would represent accelerations from May’s data.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Meanwhile, big banks unofficially kick off earnings season Tuesday morning, with JPMorgan (JPM), Citi (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC) all on the docket. The banks will look to assure investors that the tariff-driven turmoil of Q2 is in the rearview mirror and that the wind is at their backs for the second half of this year.
Read more: Full earnings coverage in our live blog
The backdrop to both events are Trump’s escalatory moves on tariffs over the past week. He has spent the last several days threatening key trade partners, most notably Canada, the European Union, and Mexico, with high duties from Aug. 1. The president said Monday that he is open to continue talking but also repeated a recent refrain that the letters he has sent to trade partners “are the deals.”
The tariffs drama and the inflation and earnings pictures also factor into the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates, coming in just over two weeks. The vast majority of bets are on a hold this month, followed by a rate cut in September.
Of course, Trump has spent the past few weeks pushing for more cuts. He and his allies are beefing up their criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, both on rates and on new fronts, like the Fed’s headquarters renovation, with one top contender to replace Powell suggesting it could be grounds for his removal.
LIVE 3 updates
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Nvidia shares pop as US clears way for AI chip sales to China
Nvidia (NVDA) stock is popping in premarket trade after the AI chipmaker got a breakthrough in its China sales logjam.
Shares are up 5% after Nvidia said it had secured Trump administration approval to restart deliveries of its China-tailored AI chip.
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
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Gold bounces back from early week slip
Gold (GC=F) prices rebounded from a mild dip Monday as global tariff talks have failed to offer investors a sense of security, bolstering the value of the haven asset.
Bloomberg reports:
Bullion rose as much as 0.5% after dropping by a similar amount in the previous session. President Donald Trump said he was open to more talks with major economies including the European Union. But that appeared to be at odds with his insistence that letters to governments setting tariff rates are “the deals” for trade partners.
The precious metal has surged by more than a quarter this year, hitting a record above $3,500 an ounce in April, as the US’s aggressive and erratic trade policy enhanced its appeal as a store of value in uncertain times. However, the rally has stalled over the last three months as investors wait for more clarity on the eventual contours of the new trade system, and on signs they’re hesitant to buy gold at such elevated levels.
“If trade talks deteriorate before August, we could easily see bullion retest or even breach its former highs,” said Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at City Index. “For now, the market seems firmly in wait-and-see mode, keeping the gold forecast leaning cautiously bullish.”
Read more here.
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Nvidia eyes return to Chinese markets with China-compliant H20 chip
Nvidia (NVDA) is moving to reestablish its foothold in the Chinese market, announcing late Monday night that it plans to restart sales of its H20 AI chips in the region. The company has also unveiled a new GPU model specifically engineered to align with US export regulations.
In a company blog post, Nvidia said it is currently seeking approval from US authorities to resume shipments of the H20, with licensing expected “soon.” Once cleared, deliveries could begin in short order.
To further strengthen its China strategy, Nvidia announced a “new, fully compliant NVIDIA RTX PRO GPU” that “is ideal for digital twin AI for smart factories and logistics.”
CEO Jensen Huang recently met with both US and Chinese officials, including former President Donald Trump, in efforts to foster international cooperation on AI and reinforce Nvidia’s role in open-source AI research.
As of Monday’s close, Nvidia shares were down 0.5% at $164.07. However, the stock saw a rebound in after-hours trading, gaining 4.2% to $170.78.
