Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Set to Open Lower; Tariff Worries; Movers

Stocks looked set to fall on Tuesday, with investors once again fretting about whether the U.S. and China will be able to strike a deal on tariffs.

Futures tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 146 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% and contracts tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.3%.

The three blue-chip indexes slipped early Monday, then rallied to end the session in the green. But it’s clear that investors are still waiting for a catalyst–with many hoping that President Donald Trump will pick up the phone to talk to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to de-escalate trade tensions.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said Monday that the White House had “severely undermined” the consensus reached at trade talks held in Geneva last month. Beijing’s statement came just days after Trump said in a social-media post that China had “totally violated” the tariffs truce.

“Time will tell what the endgame is amid all of this, though on the China issue at least it seems like a leader-level call could well be needed in order to break the deadlock,” Pepperstone strategist Michael Brown said in a research note. “Some in the Trump administration have noted that such a call may come this week, though I certainly shan’t be holding my breath on that front.”

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped 3 basis points to 4.42% in early trading Tuesday. The yield on the 2-year note was a touch lower at 3.94%.

Gold futures were down 0.5% to $3,379 an ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, ticked up 0.1%.