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By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal
(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures were higher on Friday following earnings from big banks including JPMorgan, while markets also assessed the latest escalation in the trade war with China increasing its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%.
JPMorgan Chase jumped 3.5% and Wells Fargo gained 1.2% before the bell after both the banks reported a higher profit, kicking off the quarterly earnings season.
Asset manager BlackRock was up 2.2% after its first-quarter results, while Morgan Stanley is scheduled to report before markets open.
Meanwhile, China retaliated after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on the country by lifting tariffs to an effective rate of 145%, even as he announced a 90-day tariff reprieve on most trading partners.
Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride in response to tariff announcements in the past few days. Wall Street fell for four straight sessions, before bouncing back on Wednesday with the S&P 500 seeing its largest one-day percentage jump since October 2008.
Stocks, however, slumped again on Thursday and were more than 7% off from levels seen before last week, when Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs sparked the market rout.
“The significant tariffs on China will cause economic disruption if they remain in place … while downside risks do remain, we believe the risk of a more severe economic downturn is now more limited,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management said.
At 06:58 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 238 points, or 0.60%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 37.5 points, or 0.71%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 135.5 points, or 0.73%.
Most megacap and growth stocks edged higher after initial losses in premarket trade, with gains in Apple, Nvidia and Amazon.com.
Investors sought refuge in traditional safe-haven assets such as gold, which jumped to a record high. Safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen and Swiss franc also strengthened against the dollar.
The rally in the precious metal lifted gold miners, with Newmont and U.S.-listed shares of Barrick Gold rising 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively.
On the data front, a monthly reading of producer prices is expected at 8.30 a.m. ET on Friday, which can provide more insights on the inflation trajectory amid worries of Trump’s tariffs hampering global growth.
Treasury yields remained elevated after a steep bond selloff earlier this week. The yield on the 10-year note was at 4.393%, hovering near its February highs.
At least three Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams, are scheduled to speak throughout the day.
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