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US stock futures wavered Monday evening as Wall Street girded for a key consumer inflation print and for big banks to kick off earnings season, with tariff-driven concerns in focus for both events.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) were up 0.3%. Those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) climbed 0.5% after the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) closed Monday at its latest record high. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) also rose 0.3%.
Investors are bracing for June’s release of the Consumer Price Index, due for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The report is expected to show the first real signs of a tariff-driven uptick on prices. Headline CPI is forecast to rise 0.3% month over month and 2.4% year over year. Both would represent accelerations from May’s data.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Meanwhile, big banks unofficially kick off earnings season Tuesday morning, with JPMorgan (JPM), Citi (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC) all on the docket. The banks will look to assure investors that the tariff-driven turmoil of Q2 is in the rearview mirror and that the wind is at their backs for the second half of this year.
In the backdrop of both stories are President Trump’s escalatory moves on tariffs over the past week. Trump has spent the last several days threatening key trade partners, most notably Canada, the European Union, and Mexico, with high duties from Aug. 1. The president said Monday that he is open to continue talking but also repeated a recent refrain that the letters he has sent to trade partners “are the deals.”
Read more: Full earnings coverage in our live blog
The tariffs drama and the inflation and earnings pictures also factor into the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates, coming in just over two weeks. The vast majority of bets are on a hold this month, followed by a rate cut in September.
Of course, Trump has spent the past few weeks pushing for more cuts. He and his allies are beefing up their criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, both on rates and on new fronts, like the Fed’s headquarters renovation, with one top contender to replace Powell suggesting it could be grounds for his removal.
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Nvidia eyes return to Chinese markets with China-compliant H20 chip
Nvidia (NVDA) is moving to reestablish its foothold in the Chinese market, announcing late Monday night that it plans to restart sales of its H20 AI chips in the region. The company has also unveiled a new GPU model specifically engineered to align with US export regulations.
In a company blog post, Nvidia said it is currently seeking approval from US authorities to resume shipments of the H20, with licensing expected “soon.” Once cleared, deliveries could begin in short order.
To further strengthen its China strategy, Nvidia announced a “new, fully compliant NVIDIA RTX PRO GPU” that “is ideal for digital twin AI for smart factories and logistics.”
CEO Jensen Huang recently met with both US and Chinese officials, including former President Donald Trump, in efforts to foster international cooperation on AI and reinforce Nvidia’s role in open-source AI research.
As of Monday’s close, Nvidia shares were down 0.5% at $164.07. However, the stock saw a rebound in after-hours trading, gaining 4.2% to $170.78.
