U.S. stock futures moved in a narrow, slightly negative range during Asian trading on Thursday, as investors awaited the outcome of the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, amid mixed signals on the future of trade relations between the two nations.
Futures on the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Dow Jones each slipped around 0.1%, as markets remained cautious following the Federal Reserve’s indication that the current rate-cutting cycle could pause this year, alongside mixed earnings results from several major tech companies.
Trump described his meeting with Xi as “amazing and special,” but gave no concrete details on how trade tensions between Washington and Beijing might ease. He said that a trade deal was “very close” without specifying a signing date, adding that he planned to visit China in April. Trump confirmed there were no obstacles concerning rare earth materials, noting that both countries would sign annual agreements to secure their supply.
He also stated that he had discussed semiconductors with Xi, saying that China would hold talks with Nvidia and other companies to purchase chips. Trump added that he intended to speak with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, while clarifying that the discussions did not cover the advanced Blackwell chip series. He further announced that China would resume purchases of U.S. agricultural products, particularly soybeans, though he gave no quantitative details. Additionally, Trump said the tariff on Chinese fentanyl chemicals would be cut to 10%, while keeping overall tariffs on Chinese imports around 47%.
On the monetary policy front, the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4.00%, marking its second consecutive cut, but signaled uncertainty about its next move. Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that the central bank was “navigating through economic fog,” warning of mixed economic signals and uneven progress in curbing inflatio tempering earlier market optimism for another cut before year end.
Despite persistent inflation concerns, analysts at ING Bank still expect another rate cut in December, with the potential for further monetary easing and a weaker dollar next year to support growth.
Wall Street ended Wednesday’s session mixed: the Dow Jones fell 0.2%, the S&P 500 was largely unchanged, and the Nasdaq gained 0.6%.
In the technology sector, major companies drew attention after the close. Alphabet reported stronger than expected revenues driven by advertising growth and stability in its cloud division, lifting its shares by over 7% in after hours trading. Microsoft, meanwhile, posted solid results in cloud computing but saw its stock drop over 3% amid concerns about rising costs. Meta’s shares tumbled about 8% after warning of higher capital expenditures next year and booking a $16 billion one-time charge.
These results highlight a sense of caution among investors toward the so called “Magnificent Seven” stocks that have fueled market gains since the start of the year, as traders now await the upcoming Apple and Amazon earnings reports.
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