US Stock Futures Dip As Trump's Powell Attacks, Earnings Season Stir Investor Anxiety

U.S. stock futures point to a moderately lower opening on Monday as tariff headwinds and anxiety ahead of key tech earnings keep traders on tenterhooks. 

The renewed negativity also came after President Donald Trump cemented his rhetoric against the Federal Reserve and its chair, Jerome Powell. In a Q&A session with reporters, Trump said, "If we had a Fed Chairman who understood what he was doing, interest rates would be coming down, too."

"He should bring them down."

While answering reporters' questions at the Oval Office on Thursday, the president reportedly said, "If I want him [Powell] out, he'll be out of there real fast, believe me." 

Earlier, he posted on his Truth Social account that "Powell's termination cannot come fast enough!"

Powell's term as the head of the central bank is set to expire in May 2026.

Trump's attacks on the Fed chair were triggered by the latter suggesting at a public address last week that the central bank would prefer to wait before raising interest rates, given the prospects of rising inflation and weakening labor market conditions.

Meanwhile, futures quotes in Asia trading hours on Monday were as follows:

• S&P 500 futures - 0.80%
• Nasdaq 100 futures - 0.84%
• Dow futures - 0.80%
• Russell 2000 futures - 0.87%

The week's key economic catalysts include a deluge of speeches by Fed officials, the weekly jobless claims data, preliminary private sector activity readings, a preliminary consumer sentiment reading for April, and the durable goods orders report for March.

On Monday, the Conference Board is set to release its leading economic index for March at 10 a.m. ET, with the consensus expecting another negative reading for the month.

Monday's earnings calendar features several regional banking companies. At the same time, quarterly reports from mega-caps Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL) (GOOG) and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) are also lined up for the week.

Netflix, Inc.'s (NFLX) positive earnings reported Thursday after the market close will likely keep the hopes of a strong reporting season alive.

Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday as regional traders digested geopolitical developments. 

The markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed for the Easter holiday.

Chinese stocks advanced after the People's Bank of China kept its key loan prime rates unchanged. 

On the other hand, the export-heavy Japanese market fell sharply as the yen firmed against the dollar.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar weakened against its major counterparts amid the tariff and monetary policy uncertainties.

Gold prices pushed ahead to a new record and traded just shy of the $3,400-an-ounce mark amid risk aversion, while crude oil futures moved lower.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose 2.1 basis points to 4.348% in overnight trading.

Last week, the major averages ended the holiday-shortened week lower, reversing the weekly gains for the week ended April 11,  amid the tariff impasse, Powell's comments and disappointing earnings from companies such as UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (UNH).

The U.S. market remained closed on Good Friday.

The S&P 500 shed 1.50% for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.62% and 2.66%, respectively. On the other hand, the Russell 2,000 Index gained 1.1%.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) exchange-traded fund (ETF) ended Thursday's session up 0.14% at $526.41, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF edged down 0.03% at $444.06.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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