U.S. stock index futures edged higher Tuesday evening following President Donald Trump's announcement of a trade agreement with Japan, which included a 15% tariff on Japanese exports to the U.S. The move, while lighter than the initially proposed 25%, signals ongoing progress ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline. Trump also revealed Japan’s commitment to invest $550 billion in the U.S. and open its markets further to American cars and agriculture, including rice.
The trade news helped support sentiment after a mixed Wall Street session. While the S&P 500 reached a new record high at 6,309.59, gains were muted by losses in major technology stocks. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.4% to 20,892.69, pressured by chipmakers after Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) issued a disappointing quarterly outlook. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% to 44,502.19.
Futures reflected modest optimism: S&P 500 Futures rose 0.2% to 6,358.50, Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.1% to 23,249.0, and Dow Futures added 0.2% to 44,795.0 as of 00:03 GMT.
Investors are now awaiting Q2 earnings reports from Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) due after the bell Wednesday. Tesla’s report is expected to show margin pressure due to weak vehicle sales and a price war in China. Market watchers are also eager for updates on Tesla’s AI and robotics ventures. Alphabet’s results will offer insight into AI-driven growth and the company’s infrastructure investments, as it remains a key player in the AI hyperscaler space.
Additional earnings are expected from IBM (NYSE:IBM), ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW), AT&T (NYSE:T), NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), and Moody’s (NYSE:MCO), providing broader cues for market direction. Traders remain cautious amid lingering concerns about trade policy and inflation risks.
