Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures stall as Trump ratchets up trade tensions

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US stock futures stalled on Wednesday after President Trump ratcheted up trade tensions with US trade partners.

Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 all traded broadly flat.

Stocks teetered lower on Tuesday as Trump spoke during a wide-ranging cabinet meeting, where he said a 50% tariff on copper was in the works and threatened 200% duties on pharmaceuticals.

The president also reaffirmed that the pause he placed on in April will end August 1, saying "no extensions will be granted" to countries that have not struck deals before then.

Wall Street is looking forward to today’s release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting. Fed officials held interest rates steady in June and indicated two rate cuts this year are likely. Yahoo Finance reports.

🚦 3 takeaways as investors survey another tariff delay: This time it's real, probably. The reciprocal tariff deadline that was originally set for April and then pushed to July is now delayed until August.

But the latest deferral is the final one, the president said, leaving the door open for a few more weeks of negotiations laced with a sense of finality.

The first and most obvious takeaway from this week's bout of tariff extensions and threatening letters is that Wall Street appears to be giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, banking on the possibility of deals with India and the European Union.

Just a few months ago, the market failed to price in the president's campaign trail promises. This time around, uncertainty is still in the air, but it's far more measured. And so is the market response. Yahoo Finance reports.

🚩 Washington cracks down on copper imports, a market dominated by its neighbors and China: Yesterday President Trump announced his intention to impose a 50% tax on copper imports. While the US administration is emphasizing its desire to counter China's dominance, the US is primarily dependent on imports from South America. MarketScreener reports.

🚙 Why Tesla is in trouble — aside from CEO Elon Musk's behavior: Tesla bulls are hopping mad at CEO Elon Musk. In their eyes, if he just devoted more time to the business and less to politics, Tesla would be back on track.

"We believe this is a tipping point in the Tesla story and ultimately the Tesla Board needs to act now and set the ground rules for Musk going forward around his political ambitions and actions," Webush's Dan Ives wrote on Tuesday morning, arguing that Musk's latest political move, starting the "America Party," had gone too far.

But Tesla's troubles, though levered to Musk, may be deeper than Musk's distractions, such as politics, gaming, and colonizing Mars. Yahoo Finance reports.

😎 Meta reportedly takes stake in Ray-Ban maker, showing commitment to AI-powered smartglasses: Meta Platforms reportedly has taken a stake in EssilorLuxottica, the world's biggest eyewear maker, as the U.S. tech giant further commits to metaverse and AI-powered smartglasses.

Reuters and Bloomberg News separately reported the 3% stake that Meta has taken in the maker of Ray-Ban glasses, worth about $3.5 billion. Morning Star reports.

🎆 Arm estimates a 14-fold increase in data center customers since 2021, company says: The number of customers that use Arm based chips in data centers has grown to 70,000, a 14-fold increase since 2021, the company told Reuters.

Under the guidance of Chief Executive Rene Haas, chip technology maker Arm has been working to expand its business into the PC market and has made substantial gains selling its architecture for data center chips as well.

Like other chip companies, Arm has benefitted from the frenzy around generative artificial intelligence computing and said a significant portion of its data center growth is due to AI. The company said it had seen a 12-fold spike in startups that are using Arm chips from 2021. Yahoo Finance reports.

☕ Nine months in, Starbucks CEO faces tall order in turnaround: Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol earned a reputation on Wall Street as a miracle worker for wounded restaurant brands like Taco Bell and Chipotle.

Nine months into his Starbucks tenure, investors are unsure if lightning will strike a third time.

Shares jumped more than 21% on August 13, the day Niccol was named CEO, on hopes he would inject the company with new vitality after several quarters of falling sales and pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management.

But demand has not yet reversed, Niccol has not shared any financial targets, and the stock remains sluggish. Yahoo Finance reports.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM Eastern Time)
Benzinga reports.

1) $BMGL: Basel Medical Group

Total gain: +114.83%

2) $SCAG: Scage Future

Total gain: +112.38%

3) $SOBR: Sobr Safe

Total gain: +54.00%

4) $MBIO: Mustang Bio

Total gain: +33.45%

5) $PROK: ProKidney

Total gain: +21.44%

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on July 8.
Benzinga reports.

*All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30am to 4:00pm Eastern Time

1) $PROK: ProKidney

Total gain: +513.35%

The company reported statistically significant and clinically meaningful positive topline results from the full Group 1 modified intent-to-treat population of the Phase 2 REGEN-007 trial evaluating rilparencel in patients with chronic kidney disease and diabetes. Rilparencel is an autologous cellular therapy that has received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It is currently being evaluated in the ongoing Phase 3 REGEN-006 (PROACT 1) trial, which aims to demonstrate the therapy’s potential to preserve kidney function in patients with advanced CKD and type 2 diabetes. Benzinga reports.

2) $NDRA: ENDRA Life Sciences

Total gain: +137.79%

The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

3) $BTCS: BTCS

Total gain: +109.29%

The company announced its strategic intent to raise $100 million in 2025 to acquire Ethereum. This initiative supports the company’s long-term vision to become the leading publicly traded business focused on Ethereum infrastructure while remaining one of the largest public holders of Ethereum. Benzinga reports.

*Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars


AZZ: AZZ
1Q 2026

After Market Close
Estimate: 1.600
Actual: N/A

MEI: Methode Electronics
4Q 2025

After Market Close
Estimate: 0.030
Actual: N/A

THTX: Theratechnologies
4Q 2025

Before Market Open
Estimate: 0.000
Actual: N/A

Time (ET) / Report / Period

10:00 am - Wholesale inventories

2:00 pm - Minutes of Fed's May FOMC meeting

"To be a good trader, you need to trade with your eyes open, recognize real trends and turns, and not waste time or energy on regrets and wishful thinking."

- Alexander Elder

Sourced in: " The New Trading for a Living: Psychology, Discipline, Trading Tools and Systems, Risk Control, Trade Management”, by Alexander Elder, published in 2014.