Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Set to Open Down; Trump Tariff Threats; Bitcoin Surges; Kellogg, Nvidia, MP Materials, More Movers

U.S. stock futures were pointing to losses at the open on Friday. The stream of tariff announcements from the White House continued overnight, although markets have generally shrugged off the threat of levies to rally to new highs.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 226 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures were falling 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures were also dropping 0.5%. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite both closed at record highs on Thursday.

President Donald Trump said Thursday evening that the U.S. would impose a 35% tariff on imports from Canada effective Aug. 1, although an exemption for goods that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement is still expected to apply. Trump previously applied 25% tariffs to non-USMCA goods.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.367% early Friday, ticking up from the previous day. The number of Americans who newly filed for unemployment benefits declined last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, although the report suggested the size of the unemployed population continued to grow in June.

“Yesterday’s fifth straight decline in initial jobless claims has reinforced the narrative that a sharp deterioration in the jobs market is unlikely to be what prompts the Federal Reserve to cut as soon as September. This puts even more emphasis on inflation data, due Tuesday,” wrote ING analyst Francesco Pesole in a research note.

Among individual stocks, cryptocurrency companies are likely to be in focus on Friday as Bitcoin, the largest crypto, rallied to a new high of more than $118,000 ahead of the potential passage of a bill on stablecoins in the House next week.