Traders on the New York Stock Exchange witnessed a slight uptick in stock futures on Monday night after a robust day on the trading floor, during which major averages clawed back much of the losses incurred at the end of the previous week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures saw a modest increase of 19 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures remained mostly flat.
The S&P 500 and Dow each experienced gains exceeding 1%, marking the S&P’s most significant one-day increase since May 27. This rise helped the broad market index recover more than half of the sharp decline it faced on Friday. The Dow, in particular, celebrated its best performance since September 11, breaking a five-day losing streak and recouping two-thirds of its losses from the prior session.
The market’s positive momentum was fueled in part by a message from President Donald Trump on Truth Social, which alleviated some investor concerns regarding escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Trump’s reassuring statement—“Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine”—provided a boost, particularly to tech stocks, including Oracle, AMD, and Nvidia, which surged in response.
Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, the global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management, noted that trade policy remains a significant influence on U.S. financial markets this year. She highlighted the recent rise in tensions between the U.S. and China and anticipated increased volatility in equity markets as the month progresses. “With hardened positions on both sides,” she stated, “we expect increased equity market volatility into the end of the month. However, the history of Trump-Xi negotiations suggests that escalation is often followed by tactical truces, and rare earth minerals versus shipping fees could ultimately seal a deal.”
Looking ahead, investors are keen to build on this upward trend as major banking institutions, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, are set to announce their third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, with the market eagerly anticipating the insights these reports will provide into the current economic landscape.