Asia markets set to fall as U.S. trade talks with China hang in the balance
S&P 500 futures are near flat Tuesday night, after the benchmark snapped a win streak that brought it to record highs, as investors analyzed earnings reports and awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.Futures tied to the broad index were up less than 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 23 points.Starbucks shares climbed 4% after the bell after the coffee chain posted stronger-than-expected revenue for the third fiscal quarter. On the other hand, Visa sank more than 2% despite quarterly results coming in better than what Wall Street expected.Tuesday night’s action follows a losing day on the Street, marking the first session of the last seven in which the S&P 500 did not close at an all-time high. The S&P 500 slid 0.3%, while the Dow and Nasdaq Composite lost about 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.The major averages were weighed down Tuesday as the progress of U.S. trade talks with China became shaky. U.S. negotiators ended discussions with Beijing, and the potential extension of a pause on higher China tariffs remained uncertain. A postponement of these higher rates won’t be final until President Donald Trump signs off on the plan, U.S. negotiators said.Investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve’s interest rate announcement Wednesday afternoon. Fed funds futures are pricing in a nearly 98% likelihood of the central bank keeping its key rate at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.“Despite increased political scrutiny, Fed Chair Jerome Powell continues to signal patience around any interest rate decision,” said Jerry Tempelman, vice president of fixed income research at Mutual of America Capital Management. “Financial markets do not anticipate any change in monetary policy from the Federal Reserve until at least September.”Following the decision, traders will turn to a press conference with Powell for insights into the path of monetary policy. This comes as President Trump and allies have tried to pressure the central bank leader to bring the borrowing cost down.Before that, traders will monitor economic data on private payrolls, gross domestic product and pending home sales due in the morning.They’ll also follow the continued stream of earnings reports. Etsy will provide its quarterly results before the bell on Wednesday, followed by Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Ford and Robinhood after the market closes.U.S. stocks will continue to ‘power ahead,’ Capital Economics says “It’s increasingly looking as though the S&P 500 will continue to power ahead,” Capital Economics head of markets for Asia/Pacific Thomas Mathews wrote Tuesday.“The glass is increasingly looking half full to us,” said the London-based Mathews. “With the worst of the risks around trade seemingly fading, we suspect there are fewer remaining obstacles to further investor enthusiasm for AI and its implications for U.S. companies. So, we suspect expectations for earnings and valuations could rise further, perhaps quite a bit for the ‘tech’ sectors, even if that meant the rally narrowed further,” Capital Economics wrote.The researcher acknowledged that its 6,250 end of 2025 forecast for the S&P “might be a bit too pessimistic,” while its end of 2026 forecast of 7,000 “seems as though it could plausibly come a bit sooner than we had anticipated. Of course, there’s still a fair amount of remaining uncertainty, not least around the U.S.-China negotiations and how it all feeds through to the U.S. and global economies.The broad-based nature of the recent rally in stocks is also cause for optimism, Mathews said. “Although IT and industrials have clearly led the way,” six of the 11 main sectors in the S&P 500 are higher now than they were at the prior market top in February, and two others are very close. “Most have seen upward revisions to earnings expectations, too.”— Scott SchnipperSee the stocks moving in extended tradingThese are some of the stocks making notable moves in after-hour trading:Starbucks — The coffee chain’s shares added 3% in extended trading after revenue for the fiscal third quarter came in higher than expected. Starbucks posted revenue of $9.46 billion, while LSEG consensus estimates called for $9.31 billion. Same-store sales fell for the sixth consecutive quarter, however.Visa — Shares fell 3%. Visa reaffirmed full-year 2025 guidance of low double-digit net revenue growth. Separately, the financial technology company beat expectations on the top and bottom lines in the fiscal third quarter. Visa posted adjusted earnings $2.98 per share on revenue of $10.17 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast $2.85 per share and $9.84 billion in revenue.Mondelez International — The manufacturer of Oreo cookies and Sour Patch Kids candy saw shares tumble nearly 3%. Mondelez reaffirmed its full-year guidance, calling for a 10% decline year over year in earnings per share on constant currency and organic revenue growth of about 5%. Separately, second-quarter results surpassed Wall Street estimates. Click here for the full story.— Alex HarringStock futures are near flatStock futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all little changed shortly after 6 p.m. ET.— Alex Harring
