U.S. equity index futures retreat after yesterday’s abrupt reversal. President Donald Trump declared a ninety day pause on selected tariffs. The announcement triggered a late session surge that lifted the S&P 500 almost ten percent. Contracts on the same index now trade 1.9 percent below fair value. Asian bourses that closed before the statement reopen with force. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 leaps nine percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adds two percent. Europe follows suit – the Stoxx 600 climbs five percent. At 8:30 a.m. Eastern the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases March consumer price data. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal but also Dow Jones Newswires expect a 2.6 percent year-over-year advance, down from February’s 2.8 percent and the slowest pace since September. Lower gasoline and natural-gas costs drive the deceleration.
U.S. Steel shares sink ten percent in pre market activity. Bloomberg quotes Trump as saying he opposes foreign acquisition of the Pittsburgh producer. Trump cites a recent rise in domestic steel orders as evidence of renewed demand. CarMax stock drops eight percent before the bell. The Richmond-based used car retailer posted fiscal fourth quarter earnings and unit sales that missed analyst projections.