(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures were flat on Wednesday, following a strong start to the week when a soft inflation reading and a U.S.-China trade truce lifted sentiment, with focus now on more developments around more trade deals.
Stocks on Wall Street have been on the rise since Washington and Beijing agreed over the weekend to dial back stringent reciprocal tariffs, signaling a joint effort to stave off a global economic slowdown.
The U.S. will temporarily lower the extra tariffs it imposed on Chinese imports to 30% from 145% for three months, while Chinese duties on U.S. imports will fall to 10% from 125% in the same period.
As of Tuesday’s close, the S&P 500 has turned positive on a year-to-date basis for the first time since late February, though still remains more than 4% away from its record highs hit earlier this year.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have rebounded to levels seen before April 2 – when President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs on most trading partners.
A 90-day pause announced on April 9 for countries other than China, along with solid earnings reports and a limited U.S.-UK trade agreement last week, helped the benchmarks regain lost ground.
Trump began a meeting with Syria’s president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, with investors looking for updates on a trade deal in the president’s four-day swing through the Gulf region.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed higher on Tuesday after data showed U.S. consumer prices rebounded moderately in April, with headline inflation increasing 0.2% compared with economist estimates for a 0.3% increase and a 0.1% drop in March.
“From a market point of view, the main relief was also that tariffs weren’t showing up in a major way in consumer prices, even though April included the 10% universal baseline tariffs, and much higher tariffs on China,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.
Traders currently at least two 25 basis points rate cuts by the end of the year, with the first cut likely in September, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On Wednesday, at least three Federal Reserve officials including Fed Governor Christopher Waller are slated to speak throughout the day, with Chair Jerome Powell set to make public remarks on Thursday.
At 04:45 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 43 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.02%.
Tesla and Nvidia led gains amongst major megacap and growth stocks, both rising close to 2% each in premarket trading.
On the other hand, American Eagle Outfitters dropped 13.8% after the apparel company withdrew its annual forecasts citing tariff-fueled economic uncertainty.
With more than 90% of S&P 500 companies having reported earnings, numbers from retail giant Walmart will be on the radar later this week.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
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