By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes were set for a higher open on Monday, recovering from last week’s declines, as steelmakers surged after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Trump’s latest trade escalation came on Sunday when he said he would introduce 25% tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminum into the United States, on top of existing duties on the metals.
U.S. Steel gained 3.6% in premarket trading after Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary said Nippon Steel was considering proposing a bold change in its plan to buy the company.
Shares of other steelmakers also soared, with Cleveland-Cliffs adding 8%, and Nucor gaining 6.7%. Aluminum producer Alcoa was up 4.3%.
Trump also said on Sunday that he would announce reciprocal tariffs on all countries on Tuesday or Wednesday, effective almost immediately, matching the tariffs levied by each country.
“We’re certainly in an unmarked territory. It’s not every day that an administration is so decisive with its executive powers as to take so much action altogether,” said Giuseppe Sette, president of market research firm Reflexivity.
Most megacap and growth stocks also edged higher, with Microsoft and Apple up about 0.7% each.
At 08:29 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 237 points, or 0.53%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 33.75 points, or 0.56%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 171.25 points, or 0.79%.
All three major indexes had dropped about 1% each in the last session, nursing weekly losses after Trump had initially revealed his reciprocal tariff plans.
Expectations for the Fed’s rate cuts to stay on hold in March solidified after Friday’s mixed U.S. employment report. A year-on-year 4.0% unemployment rate would probably give the central bank cover to hold off cutting interest rates at least until June.
Fed officials said on Friday that the U.S. job market is solid and pointed out the lack of clarity about how Trump’s policies would affect economic growth and still-high inflation.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to testify before Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. The January consumer price index reading is expected to be released in the early hours of Wednesday, before Powell’s testimony the same day.
McDonald’s on Monday posted a steeper-than-expected drop in quarterly U.S. comparable sales. Shares of the fast food chain, however, rose about 1.4% in choppy trading.
Coca-Cola, DoorDash, health insurer CVS Health and computer-networking equipment maker Cisco are some of the prominent companies that are expected to report results later this week.
Among other movers, T-Mobile gained 3.5% after the wireless carrier said it will launch its satellite-to-cell service, powered by SpaceX’s Starlink, in July for $15 a month.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shinjini Ganguli)
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