US stock futures rise; Trump tariffs, inflation data in focus

US stock index futures rose Tuesday, helped by a lessening of fears of overly disruptive trade tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump, and ahead of key inflation data.

At 06:00 ET (11:00 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 150 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures climbed 30 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 135 points, or 0.7%.

Wall Street closed in a mixed fashion on Monday, with gains in cyclical stocks marginally offsetting persistent losses in technology.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%, with both indexes rebounding from over two-month lows. The NASDAQ Composite lagged, falling 0.4% to a near two-month low.

Trump team considering gradual tariff hike – Bloomberg
Trump’s economic team is considering a program of gradual increases in import tariffs over the coming months, Bloomberg reported on Monday, with the proposal aimed at enhancing leverage with trading partners and preventing a sudden increase in inflation.

The plan – which has not yet been presented to Trump – involves a schedule of 2% to 5% increases in tariffs per month, and will be implemented under the executive authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Trump will take office on Jan. 20, and has vowed to impose steep trade tariffs on several major economies, especially China, from “day one” of his term. He vowed to impose a minimum 10% to 20% tariff on all imported goods, and a 60% tariff on China.

Recent reports said he could also declare a national economic emergency to carry out this plan.

Fears of increased import duties had sparked increased risk aversion on Wall Street, especially as Federal Reserve officials also warned the duties could underpin inflation and keep interest rates high in the long term.

Inflation data dump starts
Focus this week is squarely on consumer price index inflation data for December, due on Wednesday. The reading is set to offer more cues on interest rates after strong payrolls data from last week cemented bets on a slower pace of Fed rate cuts this year.

Ahead of this, markets will have the chance to parse through a monthly gauge of producer prices on Tuesday.

Economists expect the producer price index for final demand to rise by 0.4% in December, matching the prior month’s pace. In the 12 months through December, PPI is seen increasing by 3.4% — an acceleration from 3.0%.

Banks to lead earnings season
The earnings season is also set to begin in earnest on Wednesday, with prints due from several major Wall Street banks- including JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C).

Elsewhere, shares in healthcare firms like Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH) and Humana (NYSE:HUM) jumped after the Biden administration proposed 2026 reimbursement rates for Medicare Advantage plans that would lead to a 2.2% uptick in payments.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) stock edged higher premarket after the athleisure company lifted its holiday outlook for earnings and revenue, while KB Home (NYSE:KBH) stock soared 9% after the home building firm’s fourth-quarter results surpassed analyst estimates on the top and bottom line.