Dow Futures Decline After Fed Chair Powell Says Trump’s Tariffs Could Drive Up Inflation: Nvidia, UnitedHealth Among Stocks To Watch

U.S. stocks are set for a mixed opening on Thursday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies could result in higher inflation and slower growth.

In his speech at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell said the scope of Trump’s tariffs goes well beyond what the Fed had anticipated.

“We may find ourselves in the challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension,” said Powell, adding that survey- and market-based measures of near-term inflation expectations had risen “significantly.”

While Dow Jones futures were down by 1.2% at the time of writing, the S&P 500 futures gained 0.5%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100’s futures were up 0.7%. Futures of the Russell 2000 index gained 0.40%.

Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 0.50% on Thursday morning, while Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.70%.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.6% in the past 24 hours.

Asian markets ended Thursday’s trading session on a largely positive note, with the Hang Seng index gaining the most at 1.6%, followed by Nikkei 225 at 1.3%, after President Trump said “big progress” had been made in tariff talks with Japan.

KOSPI gained 1%, while Shanghai Composite edged up by 0.1%.

However, the TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock index fell 0.7% after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) flagged tariff risks in its first-quarter report.

Powell’s speech on Wednesday spooked markets, with the three benchmark indices ending the session in the red.

The Dow Jones index declined 1.7%, the S&P 500 fell 2.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 3%.

Stocks In Focus

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) will be among the stocks in focus on Thursday after the company’s CEO, Jensen Huang, flew to China for talks following the Trump administration’s export restrictions order, which barred the AI bellwether from selling its H20 chip in the country.

UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s (UNH) stock fell more than 20% in pre-market trading after the company trimmed its annual outlook on account of an increase in care activity in its Medicare Advantage business.

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Also See: Nvidia Supplier TSMC Tops Q1 Estimates On AI-Fueled Demand, Offers Strong Outlook: Retail Stays Cautiously Optimistic