Investing.com - U.S. stock futures point to a mixed open on Wall Street, following a day of declines partly spurred on by worries over President Donald Trump’s pronouncement of tariffs on the automotive sector. Trump said the U.S. will start collecting duties on global car imports early next month, weighing on shares in automakers in after hours trading. Elsewhere, analysts are gearing up for quarterly earnings from athleisure group Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) and the pricing of an initial public offering by Nvidia-backed CoreWeave.
1. Futures mixed
U.S. stock futures hovered around both sides of the flatline on Thursday, as investors assessed a fresh tariff announcement from President Trump.
By 04:36 ET (08:36 GMT), the Dow futures contract was mostly unchanged, S&P 500 futures had dropped by 8 points or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had declined by 62 points or 0.3%.
The main averages sank in the prior session, dragged down in part by technology stocks. Sentiment was hit by a report from analysts at TD Cowen which suggested that software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) may be dialing down some of its commitments to spending on data center infrastructure.
News that Trump would unveil 25% tariffs on auto imports into the U.S. sparked wider losses (more below), especially after recent media reports said that the White House may be willing to defer levies on specific sectors.
2. Trump auto tariffs
Trump said he plans to slap the tariffs on global automotive imports into the U.S. from April 3, following through on a prior pledge to place a trade tax on overseas car and truck manufacturers.
Speaking at the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon, Trump added that the duties will apply to “all cars not made in the U.S." A separate plan to institute levies matching tariffs charged by foreign countries was also set to come into effect that day, but Trump said on Wednesday that duties would likely be lower than initially anticipated.
The statement appeared to exclude possible carve-outs for Mexico and Canada, two countries that play a pivotal role in the process of car construction and have a free-trade agreement with the U.S.
Shares in American automakers, including Ford (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM), and Jeep-parent Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), sank in extended hours trading on Wednesday.
In Europe, the region’s top carmaker, Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p), is particularly exposed, with 43% of its U.S. sales sourced from Mexico, according S&P Global Mobility. Peers Mercedes Benz (ETR:MBGn), BMW (ETR:BMWG) and Porsche (ETR:PSHG_p) are also under heavy pressure.
Trump has argued that the tariffs are necessary to offset lost revenues from proposed tax breaks and help bring industrial jobs back to the U.S. It remained to be seen what responses U.S. trading partners would roll out, although leaders from Canada and the European Union criticized Trump’s pronouncement.
"In the long-run, this could boost domestic investment and production. In the short-run, however, it will be inflationary and, assuming that domestic producers respond by substantially increasing their own prices, could make new vehicles something of a luxury item," said Paul Ashworth, Chief North America Economist at Capital Economics.
3. Lululemon to report
On the earnings calendar, markets will be keeping tabs on a quarterly report from athleisure wear company Lululemon after the closing bell.
Investors are tipped to pay particularly close attention to any comments executives from the group may give about the broader outlook for discretionary spending, with recent data indicating that shoppers are becoming more cautious due in part to possible economic headwinds from Trump’s tariffs.
Shares in the Vancouver-based maker of pricier clothes for activities like running and yoga have slipped by more than 9% so far this year.
Still, analysts at Vital Knowledge noted that "people generally like the Lululemon story and assume the company will post relatively health results" and financial guidance.
The firm is expected to post fourth-quarter earnings per share of $5.86 on net revenue of $3.57 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates.
4. CoreWeave IPO pricing ahead
Meanwhile, the pricing of the much-anticipated initial public offering of Nvidia-backed start-up CoreWeave is expected to be set late on Thursday.
The group, which offers specialized cloud computing services for artificial intelligence, is then projected to make its debut on Friday on the Nasdaq, with media reports saying it could raise as much as $3 billion at the high end of the proposed price range.
In the build-up to the IPO, CoreWeave secured an $11.9 billion infrastructure contract with OpenAI. The Sam Altman-led maker of ChatGPT will be issued CoreWeave shares worth $350 million via a private placement in the IPO, Reuters has reported.
Chipmaking giant Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has a 5.96% stake in CoreWeave’s Class A, an amount that is estimated to dip to 5.05% following the IPO, the news agency said. CoreWeave has around 583 million fully diluted shares outstanding, it added.
The success of CoreWeave’s flotation has been viewed as a potential test of demand for a recently tepid U.S. IPO market, as well as a measure of the appetite investors have for new players in an AI sector that has helped underpin a multi-year rally in stock markets.
5. Oil dips
Oil prices slipped back from a one-month high Thursday, after government data confirmed a hefty drop in U.S. crude inventories, signaling healthy demand for fuel in the world’s largest economy.
At 04:37 ET, Brent crude futures fell 0.3% to $72.82 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 0.4% to $69.39 per barrel.
Both benchmarks rose by around 1% Wednesday on government data showing U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week, dropping by 3.3 million barrels, exceeding analysts’ expectations of a 956,000-barrel reduction.
Sentiment has been hit, however, by the announcement of Trump’s auto tariffs, as traders weighed their impact on global economic activity.