Investing.com – U.S. futures pointed to a flat opening bell on Thursday as trade war tensions kept investors on edge.
The S&P 500 futures fell a quarter of a point or 0.01% to 2,888.0 as of 6:50 AM ET (10:50 GMT) while Dow futures rose 22 points, or 0.08%, to 25,995.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 4 points, or 0.06%, to 7,527.50.
Investors are waiting for news of U.S. tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that could go into effect as soon as the public comment period ends at midnight in Washington on Thursday. Meanwhile trade negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada continued. America’s northern neighbor has said there is room to come up with a deal, but there are few signs that a pact is near.
Luxury car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was among the top gainers in premarket trading, rising 2.59% while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) increased 0.35% and Chinese e-commerce firm Jd.Com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD) surged 1.48%.
Elsewhere, British American Tobacco (NYSE:BTI) (LON:BATS) fell 0.60% while Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) dipped 0.29% and semiconductor Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) was down 0.79%.
In economic news, the ADP’s report on private payrolls comes out at 8:15 AM ET (12:15 GMT), along with the weekly jobless claims numbers at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT). ISH Markit's Services PMI data and ISM non-manufacturing data are released at 9:45 AM ET (13:45 GMT) and 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT), respectively.
In Europe, stocks were mixed. Germany’s DAX rose 8 points or 0.07% while in France the CAC 40 was up 8 points or 0.17% and in London the FTSE 100 decreased 10 points or 0.14%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 2 points or 0.08% while Spain’s IBEX 35 slumped 66 points or 0.72%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.78% to $1,210.70 a troy ounce while crude oil futures inched up 0.07% to $68.77 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.01% to 95.08.