US Futures Gained Two Points at Open While Asia Shares Slip

NEW YORK CITY, NY – The United States stock market futures opened Tuesday on a positive note, with the major indices slightly higher. It was a different scenario in the United Kingdom as the market opened flat. Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mixed as investors wait out the impending deadline for tariffs on Chinese goods.

The Dow Jones went up by 20 points in the early morning of Tuesday. The increase pushed the index into opening with an additional two points. Nasdaq and S&P futures also opened a bit higher. However, Wall Street closed the day on a low and saw the end of S&P 500’s three-day winning run.

The market was largely focused on trade developments around the world, as the countdown on additional tariffs on Chinese products has stated. The tariffs imposed by Washington is set to take effect on Dec. 15 and will impact $156 billion worth of goods from China.

The tariff deadline is reportedly also the reason behind the mixed trading in Asia. The Nikkei slid a margin while the Hang Seng Index remained steady. The Shanghai Composite dropped by 0.3% while its counterpart, the Shenzhen Composite, went down 0.2%.

The KOSPI of South Korea moved up by 0.1% while the benchmarks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan remained the same. The Philippine stock market fell for the second consecutive day. The country’s PSEi dropped by 0.4%, while giant SM Investments Corp. losing 0.6%. Vietnam shares also incurred big losses, especially in real estate.

Europe apparently took its cue from its Asian counterparts and opened flat on Tuesday. The Pan-European STOXX 600 was down by 0.4% while Germany’s DAX also fell by 0.64%. It was the lowest the index had fallen in a week. Meanwhile, IG futures show the FTSE 100 will open higher by 0.10% at 7,234.00.

CMC Markets analyst David Madden commented on the day being a quiet one due to the lack of news that would influence investors. However, the rest of the week is set to be a busy one as the world waits for news about the China tariffs deadline, central bank meetings, and a general election in the UK.

Bullish investors are expecting US President Donald Trump to either scrap or delay the increased tariffs. AxiTrader Stephen Innes reported that “all hell could break loose” if the planned tariffs push through since it would prove to investors that they’ve been fooled by the trade talks and ended instead on the edge of a trade war.