U.S. stock futures moved in a steady to lower range during Asian trading on Thursday as investors assessed mixed signals from the meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.1% to 6,920.75 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.1% to 26,234.00 points by 8:47 AM Saudi time. Dow Jones futures also fell 0.1% to 47,753.00 points.
The market is also pricing in the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates further this year, in addition to a range of earnings results from mid-cap tech giants.
Trump describes his meeting with Xi as positive; Nvidia's Blackwell was not discussed.
Trump said he had a stunning and outstanding meeting with Chinese President Xi on Thursday, but offered no clear vision on how to ease trade relations between Washington and Beijing.
The president indicated that he sees the possibility of reaching a trade agreement with China very soon, and that there are few obstacles between the two countries. He did not specify a date for signing the agreement, but said he would visit China in April.
Trump said there were absolutely no obstacles regarding rare earth minerals, and that Washington would sign annual agreements with China to maintain supplies of these vital minerals.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he discussed the chips with Xi, adding that China would be in talks with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and others about the use of the chips.
Trump added that he would also speak with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about the matter. However, he noted that the discussions with China did not include Nvidia's high-end Blackwell product line.
Trump said China had agreed to resume purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, particularly soybeans, but he did not provide specific figures.
The US president said he would reduce tariffs imposed on China over fentanyl to 10%, effective immediately, noting that the country would work very hard to stop the flow of this illegal substance into the United States.
Other US tariffs on China will remain unchanged, at around 47%, Trump told reporters.
The Fed cuts interest rates but signals uncertainty about its next move.
Wall Street had a mixed session on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, marking its second consecutive cut, but signaled uncertainty about further easing.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell rejected expectations that another interest rate cut in December was a certainty, saying it was far from a foregone conclusion.
He warned that the central bank was navigating a fog, pointing to mixed economic signals and uneven progress in inflation. His comments dampened optimism in markets that had been expecting another rate cut before the end of the year.
ING analysts said in a note: Inflation remains a concern, with a sense that tariffs could materialize, but the job outlook looks more challenging.
Analysts added that they still expect another interest rate cut in December, adding: It will take at least two more interest rate cuts next year and further dollar weakness to achieve the platform needed for growth.
Wall Street reacted mixedly to Powell's comments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.2%, while the S&P 500 closed virtually unchanged and the Nasdaq Composite posted a modest gain of 0.6%.
The earnings of Alphabet, Microsoft Group, and Meta Platforms Inc. are in the spotlight.
Attention also turned to the quarterly results of several giant technology companies that announced their results after the market closed.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) revenue beat expectations, supported by steady growth in advertising and resilience in its cloud business, sending shares up more than 7% in after-hours trading.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported strong demand for its cloud services, but its stock fell by more than 3% as investors focused on rising costs.
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) fell 8% after warning of higher capital expenditures next year and reporting one-off charges of nearly $16 billion.
The mixed results highlighted investor caution towards the Big Seven stocks that have led most of the market's gains this year.
These results are scheduled to be followed on Thursday by results from iPhone maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
