Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 13, 2025, in New York.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Stock futures rose Wednesday as higher-than-expected profits overshadowed concerns about growing trade tensions with China.
Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading up 196 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 Futures Contracts And Nasdaq 100 Futures grew by 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
Bank of America shares jumped 4% after the company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ expectations, driven by strong investment banking revenue. The report follows a series of better-than-expected reports from Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, among others, on Tuesday.
Morgan Stanley and PNC Financial are expected to report results before the bell. JB Hunt Transport is expected to release after the close.
Still, Wall Street veteran Art Hogan believes stocks will likely trade sideways from here on out, hovering near all-time highs as long as trade war uncertainty persists. The chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management also said the U.S. government shutdown was another headwind for the market.
“The longer this goes on, the more economic damage it does upfront. So it affects confidence. It’s probably going to affect Corporate America’s guidance on conference calls,” he told CNBC. “Earnings seasons may well be much better than expected across the board, with the usual percentage of companies beating and growing and all that. I just don’t think it necessarily acts as a tailwind, until we get closer to government reopening and perhaps more clarity on our trade relationship with China.”
Trade fears led to a tumultuous session on Tuesday. THE S&P500 attempted to make a strong comeback, but ultimately closed lower after President Donald Trump threatened China with a cooking oil embargo late in the session in retaliation for Beijing not buying U.S. soybeans. On Tuesday, the benchmark index rose as much as 0.4% and fell as much as 1.5%.
THE Nasdaq Composite fell but closed well beyond the lows. THE Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend by rising just over 200 points, even though it had fallen 1.3% on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday’s news marks the latest escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China. On Monday evening, China imposed new sanctions on five American subsidiaries of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean. This follows Trump’s threats last Friday to impose additional 100% tariffs on all products from China after Beijing imposed strict export controls on rare earth minerals. Trump’s tariffs could take effect on November 1 or earlier, depending on China’s next move, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC on Tuesday.
“A lot depends on what the Chinese do,” Greer said. “They are the ones who chose to proceed with this major escalation.”
