U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday, with investors tackling uncertainty about President Trump’s trade policy after NVIDIA (NVDA) revealed a costly new curb for chip exports to China.
Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM = F) fell to 0.2%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES = F) sank 0.7%. Futures attached to the high-tech Nasdaq Composite (NQ = F) plummeted 1.3%.
CBOT – Citation delay • USD
5:39:03 AM EDT. Market open.
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Nvidia (NVDA) stock hit a pre-market deal on Wednesday after the US government revealed it was imposeting new restrictions on chips.
A new submission from NVIDIA on Tuesday indicated that the US government is in need of a license to export its H20 artificial intelligence chip to China. The chip giant said the move would bring a $5.5 billion bill to the company.
US stocks lost momentum on Wednesday, falling after a brief rally as uncertainty over Trump’s trade policy continued to strain Wall Street. Tech stocks, including AMD (AMD), have been hit in pre-market trading following negative news from ASML (ASML) and Nvidia.
Tariffs on major imports remain in the air. While exemptions from automotive operations are reportedly being considered, the ultimate fate of consumer electronics, which has recently been suspended, is unknown. At the same time, the Trump administration is setting the stage for new taxation of drug and semiconductor imports as well as important minerals.
Read more: Latest information on Trump’s tariffs
The future of tariffs affecting US trading partners is equally vague. The president has been promoting continued negotiations with countries other than China since last week enacted a 90-day suspension on most “mutual” tariffs.
In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Finance on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett said he expects to see “substantial clarity” about tariffs with major US trading partners, except for China, before Trump’s 90-day suspension ends.
“After we reach the level we agreed to, lower tariffs and lower non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation and industry and labour subsidies, I think we can move forward,” Bessett said.
On Wednesday, investors will monitor new data from the Census Bureau on retail sales as a warning of a Wall Street economic slowdown.
In the commodity, gold (GC = F) reached a new record, and the escalating trade war between the US and China pushed investors into safe shelters. Bullion went over $3,275 to over a ounce late Tuesday evening after winning 1.4% throughout the day.
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Asian indexes fall as NVIDIA chip limits affect
The Asian market slipped early Wednesday morning late Tuesday, causing a plunge in high-tech stocks across the region. New US restrictions on exporting Nvidia chips to China have shaken investors’ trust as the plunging value lowered the major index.
Reuters report:
On Wednesday, MSCI’s broadest index of non-Japan Asia-Pacific stocks (9010.hk) fell 1.4%, earning a four-day winning streak. Japan’s Nikkei (^n225) fell 1.6%.
China’s blue chips fell 0.7% as investors were unable to find much comfort in some solid GDP data ahead of tariff rises in April. Hong Kong’s Hangsen (^hsi) fell 2.7%.
“Both countries seem to believe they have an advantage and could extend the current deadlock over the coming months,” PGIM bond analysts said in a note to their clients.
“It appears that China is not going to climb from its current stance on tariffs, and instead sees it as an opportunity to infiltrate the current trade dynamics into countries exporting to the US.”
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As Trump’s trade war pushes shelters higher, money gets higher
Gold (GC = F) reached record highs after refusing to begin negotiations with China in an ongoing trade war between the two largest economies of the world. As global markets rattle with economic pushes and pulls, gold continues to rise as demand for safe shelters drives investors towards valuable metals.
Bloomberg Report:
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Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 11:58pm UTC
Trend tickers for trading outside of business hours
Nvidia Corporation (NVDA)
Stocks from Leaguered Megacap AI chip maker Nvidia won another hit in after-hours trading following news that the US government has restricted exports of H20 chips to China. This market is a large buyer of NVIDIA products, and the cuts have hit the company’s revenues by $5.5 billion.
Nvidia fell by more than 6% in long-term trading.
UnitedAirlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL)
United Airlines’ inventory skyrocketed after it surpassed first-quarter revenue expectations in early reports from major airlines. The revenue estimate is $0.91 per share with companies declaring comfortable profits in the rocky sector as the airline hits at the start of this year. United has pledged to “aggressive” investment in growth that will lead to a positive increase in investor sentiment.
Stocks accounted for 6.7% in after-hours trading.
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (IBKR)
The stock of the multinational brokerage sank into expanded trading after missing revenue estimates in its first quarter report. Inventory values fell outside of business hours and continued to sink throughout the trading period, plunging to 9.8%.