U.S. equity futures edged higher in early Tuesday trading, while Treasury yields retreated and the dollar held steady, as investors looked to further suggestions of tariff relief from President Donald Trump as driving a mid-month rebound for global stock markets.
Updated at 6:59 AM EDT
America’s bank
Bank of America (BAC) posted better-than-expected first quarter earnings, powered by record profits in its trading book, as the top Wall Street banks continue to benefit from the market’s extreme volatility and the uncertainty tied to President Trump’s tariff strategy.
Global markets revenues were up 12% to just under $6.6 billion, Bank of America said, with overall earnings rising 18.4% to 90 cents per share, well ahead of Street forecasts. Net interest income was up 3% to $14.4 billion.
Bank of America shares were marked 2% higher in premarket trading immediately following the earnings release to indicate an opening bell price of $37.40 each.
Stock Market Today
The S&P 500 ended firmer last night, pacing a broad set of gains on Wall Street, as Treasury yields eased and investors were willing to extend some risk into a beaten-down market heading into the start of the first quarter earnings season.
Tech stocks were also given a boost by President Trump’s late-Friday unveiling of a pause in certain tariffs tied to China-made goods, with Apple (AAPL) leading the charge with a 2.2% gain that lifted the world’s biggest company back over the $3 trillion mark.
Goldman Sachs (GS) followed JPMorgan (JPM) with better-than-expected March quarter numbers, and while a New York Fed reading of near-term inflation expectations jumped higher, the longer-term view held largely in place, supporting a modest rally in Treasuries that pushed yields lower.
Boeing became the latest U.S. company in the crosshairs of the U.S.-China trade war as Beijing orders domestic airlines to cease taking deliveries from the planemaker.
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Benchmark 10-year notes were last marked at 4.382% heading into the start of the New York trading session, with 2-year notes pegged at 3.864%, helped in part by comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who told an event in Washington that the central bank could be minded to lower rates in the event of an economic shock.
“The new tariff policy is one of the biggest shocks to affect the U.S. economy in many decades,” Waller said. “Given that there is still so much uncertainty, I have struggled, like many others I have talked with, to fit these varying possibilities into a single coherent view of the outlook.”
Trump’s recent remarks underscored that concern, with the President suggest late Monday that he may consider some tariff exemptions for the auto sector as the administration works out a new scheduled of levies for the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries.
At the same time, China has reportedly said it will no longer accept aircraft deliveries from Boeing (BA) , a move that illustrates the tit-for-tat natures of the ongoing trade war between Washington and Beijing that could spill over into markets at any moment.
Wall Street does appear set for a modest set of opening bell gains, however, with futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggesting a 13 point advance from last night’s close and those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average priced for a 55 point bump.
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The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 72 points higher with Nvidia (NVDA) , Tesla (TSLA) and Palantir (PLTR) active in premarket trading.
In overseas markets, auto stocks lead the Stoxx 600 to a 1.16% gain in mid-day Frankfurt trading with the FTSE 100 rising 0.93% in London.
Overnight in Asia, the regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark rose 1.05% into the close of trading with Japan’s Nikkei 225 rising 0.84% in Tokyo.
