Stocks Eye Upturn After Volatile Session
Futures Rise as Investors Weigh Tariffs and Fed Nominee
U.S. stock futures edged higher overnight following a mixed trading session that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average experience significant swings. Market participants are closely monitoring President Trump’s trade policies and a key Federal Reserve nomination.
Tariffs Cast a Long Shadow
President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, targeting dozens of U.S. trading partners, officially took effect at midnight Thursday. Notably, Syria faces a 41% duty, while Laos and Myanmar are subject to a 40% rate. Earlier, markets had shown optimism after the President announced his 100% tariff on imported semiconductor chips would exempt companies manufacturing within the United States.
Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, emphasized the ongoing impact of these trade actions. “There’s less turbulence with tariffs, but there’s still plenty of turbulence. There’s still plenty of questions out there as to how they’re going to affect companies’ decision making, supply chains, costs, margins, pricing, how it’s going to affect consumers and whatnot,”
Martin told CNBC. “So I think there’s still a lot of a lot of uncertainty associated with the tariffs. It’s still the most important thing, at this point, that just has to be worked out.”
Fed Nomination Sparks Interest
In a late Thursday development, President Trump announced his selection of Stephen Miran, current Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, to join the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Miran is slated to fill the vacancy left by Adriana Kugler, who resigned last Friday, completing Kugler’s term which concludes in January.
Market Performance and Outlook
During Thursday’s regular trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined approximately 224 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 finished down 0.08%, while the Nasdaq Composite managed a gain of nearly 0.4%. For the week, major averages are on track for gains: the S&P 500 is up 1.6%, the Dow is poised for a 0.9% advance, and the Nasdaq is set for a 2.9% climb.
Looking ahead to Friday’s trading, investors will be paying close attention to quarterly earnings reports from notable companies including Under Armour, AMC Networks, and Wendy’s. The U.S. economy added 194,000 jobs in July 2025, a slight increase from the previous month, indicating continued, albeit moderate, labor market expansion (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, August 2025).
