Wall Street Futures Rise on Signs of U.S.-China Trade Talks, Job Market Data Awaited

U.S. stock index futures climbed early Friday, buoyed by signs that U.S.-China trade tensions may be easing and ahead of the release of a key U.S. jobs report.

Futures Performance at a Glance (06:09 a.m. ET):

• Dow E-minis: +224 points (+0.55%)

• Nasdaq 100 E-minis: +63.25 points (+0.32%)

• S&P 500 E-minis: +26.75 points (+0.48%)

The uptick comes after Beijing announced it is “evaluating” a proposal from Washington to restart trade negotiations following U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial 145% tariffs on Chinese imports. The prolonged trade dispute has rattled markets and disrupted global supply chains, but Trump’s partial reversal of some tariffs on other global partners has helped steady Wall Street.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq surged to its highest levels since April 2—also referred to by traders as “Liberation Day”—when Trump first introduced sweeping global tariffs.

Corporate Earnings Updates Weigh on Sentiment

Despite positive momentum from trade developments, disappointing earnings from major tech companies added caution to the market:

• Apple (AAPL): Shares fell 2.9% in premarket trading after the company announced a $10 billion cut to its share buyback program. CEO Tim Cook warned that tariffs could increase quarterly costs by $900 million.

• Amazon (AMZN): Dropped 1.6% after the e-commerce giant issued a weaker-than-expected Q2 operating income forecast, citing concerns about tariffs and weakening consumer spending.

• Block (SQ): Tumbled 21.3% after slashing its 2025 profit outlook and missing Q1 earnings expectations due to subdued consumer demand.

• Airbnb (ABNB): Declined 4.5% following a Q2 revenue forecast that fell short of Wall Street estimates, signaling a potential slowdown in U.S. travel demand.

Focus Turns to U.S. Jobs Report

Investors are now awaiting the U.S. Labor Department’s April employment report, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Analysts expect nonfarm payrolls to have increased by 130,000, down from March’s gain of 228,000—partly due to waning seasonal effects from warmer weather. Average hourly earnings are projected to rise by 0.3%, matching the previous month’s pace.

The report will provide key insights into the health of the U.S. labor market and may influence future monetary policy decisions by the Federal Reserve.