DailyEdge

Tesla investors are anxious to know if plans to roll out a cheaper car and a robotaxi service this year are on track, and whether CEO Elon Musk is ready to ditch his role in the Trump administration soon and get back to managing the company more closely.

US stock futures fell early Monday as investors prepared for another week of developments on President Trump's fast-moving tariff policies and for the kickoff of Big Tech earnings reports. Futures tied to the S&P 500 were down 1%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also dropped 0.9%.

On Thursday, all eyes were on the trade negotiations that began between the US administration and Japan. President Trump had previously touted "big progress" in tariff talks, but Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato expressed concerns over the global economic fallout from tariffs. He warned that the market volatility could potentially disrupt Japan's economic recovery.

US stock futures climbed on Tuesday, as optimism over a possible auto tariff reprieve lifted sentiment ahead of the next round of corporate earnings. Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.10% and the benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.18%. Futures attached to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were up 0.2%.

China on Friday struck back at President Trump's ballooning tariffs, raising its duties on imports of US goods to 125% from 84%. The countermeasures will come in on Saturday, further intensifying a US-China trade war that has roiled US stocks. The trade conflict has weighed on investor sentiment, even as Trump instituted a 90-day pause on steep Liberation Day tariffs and the EU matched a US pause on retaliatory duties.

President Donald Trump dramatically reversed course, dropping his country-specific tariffs down to a universal 10% rate for all trade partners except China. China’s tariff rate will jump to 125%, effective immediately, the White House says.

China’s foreign ministry reiterated Wednesday that Beijing will take “resolute and forceful” measures to protect its own interests, after net total tariffs of 104% on Chinese imports into the U.S. took effect

China pledged to retaliate against Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat and mobilized state organs to send a message of resilience, raising the risk of a prolonged trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to impose sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday, upending decades of rules-based trade, risking cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides.

Stocks are hovering near their lowest levels of the year, with President Trump's latest tariff announcements and fears about the US economy's path forward sending equities lower in the final full week of the first quarter.