Investing.com - U.S. stock futures edged down on Tuesday as traders grappled with the possible consequences of fresh tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China. Beijing slapped import tariffs on certain U.S. commodity and industrial imports in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 10% levy on the country. However, Trump moved to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada, in a potential sign that trade policy with his administration can still be up for negotiation. Against this backdrop and last week’s stock market ructions caused by a low-cost artificial intelligence model from China’s DeepSeek, Google-owner Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is due to report its latest quarterly results.
1. Futures lower amid tariff uncertainty
U.S. stock futures were hovering below the flatline on Tuesday, as investors assessed the implications of tit-fot-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China.
By 03:47 ET (08:47 GMT), the S&P 500 futures contract had dipped by 22 points or 0.4%, Nasdaq 100 futures had shed 69 points or 0.3%, and Dow futures were down by 175 points or 0.4%.
The main indices on Wall Street all closed lower on Monday, but still pared back much of their earlier declines in a rollercoaster session. Fears over the impact of Trump’s announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada weighed on stocks at the start of trading, but the concerns were somewhat eased after the president said he had agreed to delay the levies on Mexico by one month.
Trump later temporarily suspended the tariffs on Canada for 30 days as well. Leaders from both Mexico and Canada agreed to boost security at their respective borders with the U.S. in response to calls from Trump to crack down on drug smuggling and illegal immigration.
However, a 10% surcharge on goods incoming from China took effect on Tuesday -- sparking retaliatory measures from Beijing (more below).
2. China retaliates against Trump tariffs
China slapped import tariffs on certain U.S. commodity and industrial imports in retaliation to Trump’s levies.
China’s finance ministry said it will impose a 15% tariff on coal and liquified natural gas imports from the U.S., and an additional 10% duty on crude oil, agricultural equipment and automobiles from February 10.
China’s commerce ministry also placed export controls on rare earths and exotic materials, of which the country is a top producer. The materials covered included tungsten, tellurium, ruthhenium, and molybdenum.
Separately, Beijing added Calvin Klein-owner PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) and biotechnology firm Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) to its list of unreliable entities, and initiated an antitrust investigation into Alphabet-owned Google.
3. Oil slips
Oil prices fell sharply Tuesday as traders gauged the potential for severe disruption to global economic activity due to the tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China.
By 03:48 ET, the US crude futures (WTI) slipped 1.9% to $71.78 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 1.2% to $75.05 a barrel.
Meanwhile, spot gold prices rose slightly in European trade, remaining in sight of a recent peak as safe haven demand for the yellow metal was underpinned by worries over a renewed U.S.-China trade war. Gold was also tracking some weakness in the dollar.
"Despite the US coming to a deal with Canada and Mexico, [...] the uncertainty over trade and tariffs continues to buoy gold prices," analysts at ING said in a note to clients.
4. Bitcoin rebounds
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies rebounded on Tuesday after Trump’s decision to postpone the new tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Bitcoin rose 3.0% to $98,221.8 by 03:50 ET. Following the announcement of the tariff delay, the price of the world’s most popular digital asset edged above $100,000 on Monday evening.
Ethereum, the world’s second-biggest cryptocurrency, also climbed.
Cryptocurrencies often react to macroeconomic uncertainties, with traders seeking liquidity during times of market stress. The 24/7 nature of crypto trading makes it a readily available asset class for such liquidity needs, especially during weekends when traditional markets are closed.
With the immediate threat of trade disruptions between the U.S. and its neighbors reduced, traders have resumed buying, helping stabilize the crypto market. But, despite the recent recovery, analysts have cautioned that the cryptocurrency market remains vulnerable to ongoing geopolitical developments.
5. Alphabet to report
The uptick in international trade tensions comes during a busy week for markets dotted with earnings from major tech companies.
On Tuesday, Google-parent Alphabet is due to report its latest quarterly returns after the closing bell.
Analysts will be paying close attention to the search giant’s plans for spending on artificial intelligence, particularly after the emergence of an AI model from Chinese start-up DeepSeek last week.
DeepSeek said the model rivalled OpenAI’s ChatGPT in performance despite using less-advanced data and costing only around $6 million to develop. Although doubts have been cast over the claims, DeepSeek’s notoriety has raised questions around recent heavy expenditures on AI by some of Silicon Valley’s biggest players, including Alphabet.