Investing.com - U.S. stock futures turn lower on Friday as President Donald Trump's newest tariff directive stops short of immediately imposing fresh reciprocal levies on American trading partners, but some analysts flag that the duties could still be coming later this year. Elsewhere, TikTok returns to the app stores of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)-owned Google, while shares in GameStop (NYSE:GME) surge in extended hours trading on a report that the video game retailer is considering possible investments in cryptocurrencies.
1. Futures edge lower
U.S. stock futures were lower on Friday, reversing some earlier gains, as traders assessed the implications of President Trump's latest tariff announcement and parsed through a raft of inflation data earlier in the week.
By 06:45 ET (11:45 GMT), the S&P 500 futures contract had dipped by 12 points or 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures had fallen by 48 points or 0.2%, and Dow futures had dropped by 150 points or 0.3%.
The main averages on Wall Street ended higher on Thursday. Labor Department figures showed that headline producer prices increased at a faster than anticipated rate in January, although the some details of the report were relatively tepid.
A steep drop in benchmark 10-year Treasury yields was interpreted by analysts as a sign of some relief among investors following hot consumer price growth on Wednesday. The January consumer price index (CPI) came in faster than expected, denting hopes for a potential Fed interest rate cut this year.
"Treasury yields have found a way to block out Wednesday's CPI reading, implicitly balking at the notion of shooting higher, at least not for now," analysts at ING said in a note to clients.
In individual stocks, an uptick in shares in iPhone-maker Apple, artificial intelligence-darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and electric vehicle giant Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) helped to lift the S&P 500 up to just under its all-time closing peak.
Ad tech group AppLovin (NASDAQ:APP) also jumped by more than 20% on a fourth-quarter earnings beat. The stock has now surged by more than 906% over the past one-year period.
2. Trump tariffs latest
Trump ordered his economics team to review and create a plan for reciprocal tariffs on every country charging import taxes on U.S. goods, in the latest escalation of his drive to overhaul America's trading relationship with its friends and adversaries alike.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said the he will roll out the reciprocal tariffs for the "purposes of fairness," ordering officials to devise a plan to begin tallying up duties so they can match those imposed by other countries. He also called for the removal of non-tariff barriers such as value-added taxes and vehicle safety restrictions.
However, Trump did not immediately impose the new tariffs, choosing instead to conduct potentially weeks of investigations into America's trading ties with a host of countries, including traditional allies like the European Union, South Korea, and Japan. Although markets appear to have welcomed the decision, some analysts have flagged that the tariffs could still be applied sometime this year.
"[The] action is not mere negotiating posture -- this is the Trump administration putting nearly every country on notice," said Atlantic Council Senior Director Josh Lipsky. "[N]one of this should be dismissed as merely another Trump 'wait and see' announcement."
Trump has made international trade a central focus of the first weeks of his second term in office, slapping 10% tariffs on China, rolling out separate levies on steel and aluminum imports, and placing -- but then delaying -- duties on U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico.
3. TikTok returns to Apple, Google U.S. app stores
TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Alphabet-owned Google, with the company announcing on Thursday that it was available for download on these services.
Trump had previously postponed a U.S. ban on the Chinese-backed social media platform that was due to come into effect on January 19. A law called on ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a halt to its operations in the U.S.
TikTok briefly went dark in the U.S. in January, blocking access to a service used by almost of all Americans.
But Trump later signed an executive order delaying the enforcement of the law for 75 days, granting a temporary reprieve for TikTok's business in the U.S. Analysts have suggested that the gap between this decision and TikTok's comeback on the Apple and Google app stores stemmed from the tech giants wanting assurances that they would not be held liable for hosting or distributing the app.
4. Apple aiming to launch AI features in China by mid-2025 - Bloomberg News
Apple plans to release its artificial intelligence features on Chinese devices by the middle of the year, as it links up with local firms to meet Beijing's regulatory requirements, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.
The company has several teams in the U.S. and China working to adapt its AI features -- called Apple Intelligence -- for Chinese markets, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. It is reportedly aiming for a launch by as soon as May.
Apple will use its own AI models, with inputs from Chinese internet giants Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) and Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), the Bloomberg report said.
5. GameStop surges after report says video game retailer is eyeing possible cryptocurrency investments
GameStop is mulling over potential investments into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, as well as other alternative asset classes, according to CNBC.
Shares in GameStop rose in premarket U.S. trading following the report.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the business news channel said GameStop -- the video game retailer who became the figurehead of a surge in interest in so-called meme stocks in 2021 -- is still in the process of determining if the move is right for the company.
GameStop could still choose not to go ahead with the investments, CNBC noted. It added that Michael Saylor, Chairman of major corporate Bitcoin holder Strategy who was pictured in a social media post by GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen last weekend, is not involved in the discussions.