Wall Street drifted modestly lower before the opening bell as uncertainty over global trade seeps into the busiest week of earnings this quarter from major corporations, as well as a raft of economic indicators
Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% Monday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1%. Nasdaq futures also fell 0.2%.
Domino's Pizza slipped 1.5% in premarket trading after it's quarterly revenue came in slightly below Wall Street's expectations. Wall Street was also caught off guard by a decline in U.S. same store sales. Domino's closed 25 stores abroad while opening 17 in the U.S.
Domino's did not mention tariffs or trade policy, but corporations across across multiple sectors have lowered or withdrawn their projections, citing the uncertainty created by Trump's tariffs. Domino's referred to the current global macroeconomic environment as ''challenging.''
Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs may be pushing households and businesses to alter their spending and freeze plans for long-term investment because of how quickly conditions can change, seemingly by the hour.
Despite a market rally last week, as talk of Trump firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell receded and hints emerged of a selective softening of his stance on tariffs, not much has changed, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said.
''But let's not kid ourselves: this isn't a clean pivot," Innes said. "It's hope and narrative management, plain and simple. What's really driving the bounce isn't hard policy action — it's the perception of de-escalation."
Trump says he's on a path to cut several new trade deals in a few weeks — but has also suggested it's ''physically impossible'' to hold all the needed meetings.