Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures climb with potential US-China tariff negotiations on horizon

US stock futures climbed after a day of Wall Street digesting earnings reports from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) as news broke that China and the US are opening the door towards tariff negotiations.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) climbed 0.7%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) ascended 0.5%.

Overnight Thursday an announcement from China’s Commerce Ministry made clear that Beijing is “evaluating” the current state of affairs in the trade war between China and the US. The declaration is the first step towards lowering the sky-high reciprocal tariffs that have erupted in the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

Apple earnings beat Wall Street expectations on Thursday, but shares fell as the tech giant reported disappointing sales in China and warned of a $900 million hit from President Trump’s tariffs.

Amazon also issued an earnings beat that came with a curve ball. The company’s guidance for its operating income in the current quarter missed Wall Street’s expectations, sending shares lower.

The two latest Big Tech reports threw cold water on Wall Street’s elation after Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META) earnings stunned investors on Wednesday. The tech companies’ results sent the Nasdaq surging during the day Thursday and lifted the other indexes as well.

On Friday, Wall Street’s attention will turn to the April jobs report. The reading is the first since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, and investors will be vigilant for signs of a cooling labor market.

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Asian markets saw gains overnight Thursday following announcements from the Chinese Commerce Ministry that the country is seriously evaluating overturning tariffs in negotiations with the US. The news comes as the first step toward breaking the economic stalemate that has developed between the two countries and shaken the global economy.

AP Finance reports:

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Gold sinks as tech earnings pull investors out of haven

Gold (GC=F) is heading for consecutive weekly losses for the first time in 2025 after a record-breaking run for the commodity. The haven asset touched $3,500 last week before starting a sharp decline as tech earnings have pulled investors back into the stock market despite recent trade war-induced volatility.

Bloomberg reports:

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