Dow Jones, Nasdaq Futures Drop as Supreme Court Reviews Trump’s Tariffs
U.S. stock futures experienced a decline on Wednesday, continuing the trend established during Tuesday’s trading session. Key benchmark indices, including the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq futures, all showed weaker performance. This downturn comes as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reported a year-over-year increase of 2.7% in December, consistent with previous readings and market expectations. However, the core CPI registered a slight decline, at 2.6%, just below forecasts.
Supreme Court Review and Market Implications
Investors are keenly awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court regarding President Donald Trump’s tariff authority. This ruling has the potential to significantly influence market conditions. The 10-year Treasury bond yield was reported at 4.17%, while the two-year bond yield stood at 3.52%. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, there is an estimated 97.2% probability that the Federal Reserve will maintain current interest rates in January.
Performance Overview
| Index | Performance (%) |
|---|---|
| Dow Jones | -0.15 |
| S&P 500 | -0.16 |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.16 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.14 |
In premarket trading, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) decreased by 0.15% to $692.73. Meanwhile, the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell by 0.20% to $625.00, reflecting the sluggish performance of the index.
Key Stocks and Earnings Reports
Several notable stocks saw movement in early trading:
- Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC): Down 0.81%, with expectations of quarterly earnings of $1.67 per share on revenue of $21.65 billion.
- BP PLC (NYSE: BP): Dropped 1.84% after announcing potential writedowns of up to $5 billion in its energy transition businesses.
- WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ: WRD): Increased 1.59% after launching the “WeRide Go” Robotaxi Mini Program on WeChat.
- TG Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: TGTX): Jumped 6.99% following an optimistic revenue outlook for 2026.
- Gelteq Ltd. (NASDAQ: GELS): Surged 56.04% due to positive preclinical results for its cannabinoid oral gel delivery platform.
Market Insights
On Tuesday, sectors such as Energy and Consumer Staples gained traction, while Financials and Consumer Discretionary faced the toughest declines. Analyst Jeremy Siegel anticipates a strong economic performance in 2026, driven by improved productivity. He suggests that earnings growth will be pivotal for investor returns, encouraging diversification beyond large-cap technology stocks.
Upcoming Economic Data
Investors will focus on key economic indicators being released Wednesday:
- Retail sales and producer price index data for November at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Business inventories for October at 10:00 a.m. ET.
- Existing home sales for December at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Federal Reserve officials, including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and New York Fed President John Williams, will also be speaking throughout the day.
Global Market Movements
Crude oil futures slipped by 0.98% to approximately $60.57 per barrel. Gold Spot US Dollar rose by 0.93%, reaching around $4,629.12 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index decreased by 0.03% to 99.1010. Bitcoin trading increased by 3.32%, reaching $94,969.36 per coin.
Additionally, Asian markets closed mixed. Notable declines were seen in India’s Nifty 50 and China’s CSI 300 indices, while Australian and Japanese indices experienced gains. European markets opened with varied results.
