Investing.com - U.S. stock futures slide, as traders await a new slate of company earnings and a range of central bank interest rate decisions this week. U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans remain a key focus, with carmaker Ford in particular scrapping its annual guidance due to uncertainty around the levies. Meanwhile, Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR)’s shares drop in extended hours trading despite the data and analytics group raising its full-year outlook.
1. Futures dip
U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Tuesday, as investors assessed a fresh batch of corporate earnings for indications of the potential impact of Trump’s trade agenda.
By 03:40 ET (07:40 GMT), the Dow futures contract had fallen by 104 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 futures had dropped by 24 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had declined by 130 points, or 0.7%.
The benchmark S&P 500 slipped on Monday, ending a streak of nine positive sessions — the longest such run in two decades. Sentiment was dented by Trump’s announcement of new 100% tariffs on foreign-made movies, dragging down media firms like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) in particular, although hopes remain that the White House’s levies will not be as aggressive as many feared.
A reading of activity in the key U.S. services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy’s output, was stronger than anticipated, signaling that businesses may be able to shrug off headwinds from the tariffs. Still, a metric of prices paid by services companies rose, adding to worries that the duties could fuel inflationary pressures.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a conference that the tariffs, as well as tax cuts and deregulation, would help to overcome any short-term market ructions.
In individual stocks, shares in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKb) (NYSE:BRKa) fell after long-time CEO and legendary investor said that he would step down at the end of the year.
Markets are also keeping tabs on an upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision this week, as well as announcements from a host of other central banks around the world.
2. Ford scraps guidance
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) slashed its full-year guidance as the U.S. carmaker noted uncertainty around the outlook due to Trump’s tariffs.
Shares in the group, which reported after the close of U.S. stock markets, dipped in extended hours trading.
Speaking to analysts in a post-earnings call, CEO Jim Farley flagged that it remained too early to tell how Ford’s competitors would react to the levies, but said auto manufacturers with the “largest U.S. footprint” will have an advantage.
Earlier this month, GM reduced its profit guidance and Jeep-parent Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) pulled its financial forecast. Along with Ford, the three form the so-called Big 3 Detroit automakers.
Trump has imposed steep tariffs on overseas autos and parts in a bid to restore manufacturing jobs in the U.S., although he recently approved a partial reprieve following heavy lobbying from the car industry.
Net income in the first quarter at Ford sank to $471 million from $1.3 billion a year ago, while revenue decreased to $40.7 billion but still topped estimates.
3. Palantir shares slump despite sales outlook hike
Palantir Technologies lifted its annual sales guidance, but shares in the artificial intelligence-focused data firm sank in after-hours trading on quarterly numbers that disappointed heightened market expectations.
The company, whose offerings include services to government clients, has been a major beneficiary of enthusiasm around AI-powered businesses. The stock has jumped by more than 60% so far this year, with investors hoping that AI will underpin an increase in government spending on defense-related tech.
Analysts had noted heading into the results that the surge in Palantir’s share price was a likely indication that expectations for the figures were high.
Adjusted per-share profit came in at $0.13 for the first quarter, meeting projections, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters. Revenue of $883.9 million was also slightly above estimates of $862.8 million.
Colorado-based Palantir, which was co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, now sees sales for the full year at $3.89 billion to $3.90 billion, compared with a previous forecast of $3.74 billion and $3.76 billion.
Elsewhere, a slate of earnings are due out on Tuesday, including results from chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and computer networking firm Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET).
4. DoorDash) to acquire Deliveroo
DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH) has agreed to buy British peer Deliveroo (LON:ROO) for 2.9 billion pounds ($3.86 billion) as part of a drive to expand the reach of both of the delivery services and address intensifying competition.
Under the terms of the deal, Deliveroo stakeholders will be entitled to receive 180 pence in cash per Deliveroo share, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.
The value of the transaction represents a premium of about 44% to the closing price of Deliveroo shares on April 4 -- the last business day prior to the delivery of an acquisition offer letter from DoorDash to Deliveroo.
"We’ll cover more than 40 countries with a combined population of more than 1 billion people, enabling us to provide more local businesses with the tools and technology they need to thrive," said DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.
The purchase stands to particularly bolster DoorDash’s operations in Europe, where rivals like Just Eat Takeaway and Uber (NYSE:UBER) Eats already have a strong presence.
5. Oil bounces
Oil prices rose Tuesday, bouncing after the previous session’s sharp drop following the decision by a group of major producers to accelerate increases in output, raising oversupply concerns.
At 03:41 ET, Brent futures climbed 2.2% to $61.58 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced by 2.3% to $58.44 per barrel.
Both benchmarks had settled at their lowest since February 2021 on Monday, driven by the decision over the weekend by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, to announce much higher production hikes than initially expected.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, is set to lead the cartel into unwinding over two years of production cuts, with several OPEC+ members looking to increase sales volumes to offset weaker oil prices.