Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the Financial District in New York City on March 4, 2025.
Timothy A. Clary | Afp | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures rose early Wednesday after all three major averages suffered sharp losses for a second session.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 255 points, or 0.6%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each added about 0.73% and 0.93% respectively.
The blue-chip Dow tumbled 670.25 points, or 1.55%, to end Tuesday’s regular trading session. The S&P 500 dropped 1.22%, and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.35%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq had dipped more than 2% at its lowest point and came within striking distance of correction territory, a term that refers to an index falling 10% from a recent peak.
U.S. stocks slid for their second day in a row after President Donald Trump’s new 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico officially took effect on Tuesday. In response, Canada, Mexico and China — with China hit by an additional 10% duty — have prepared retaliatory measures.
However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on “Fox Business” on Tuesday afternoon that the U.S. might meet Canada and Mexico somewhere “in the middle” to “work something out” on tariffs.
“The thing that we have emphasized over and over again is that Trump introduces uncertainty. We now are at a point where a single tweet or a single release of information can significantly change the interpretation of what markets look like,” said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management.
Green added that a mounting trade war, exacerbated by retaliatory tariffs, could place a damper on the economy going forward, although it is still uncertain what the long-term prospects will look like.
“You almost end up in a forced savings regime, which in turn negatively affects employment, negatively affects wealth, and that’s what markets are trying to price right now. We genuinely don’t actually know,” he told CNBC.
New economic releases on Wednesday morning that could shed light on the state of the U.S. economy include the ADP private payrolls report for February, as well as the purchasing managers’ index for last month.
Companies due to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday include Thor Industries, Abercrombie & Fitch, Campbell’s and Brown-Forman.
