OP Wire 2/4 (OP – Lite)

U.S. stock futures edged lower on Tuesday as traders weighed the impact of escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Beijing retaliated against new U.S. tariffs by imposing levies on key American imports, while President Trump temporarily suspended tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Meanwhile, Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is set to report earnings, with investors watching closely for AI-related spending updates.

Futures Lower Amid Tariff Uncertainty

As of early Tuesday morning, futures on major indices were down:

• S&P 500 futures fell 22 points (-0.4%)
• Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 69 points (-0.3%)
• Dow futures declined 175 points (-0.4%)

Monday’s session saw a rollercoaster of volatility, with markets initially selling off on fears of Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada before rebounding on news of a one-month delay for Mexican tariffs and a 30-day suspension for Canadian tariffs.

China Strikes Back

In response to U.S. tariffs, China announced:

• A 15% tariff on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas
• A 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural equipment, and automobiles (effective Feb. 10)
• Export controls on rare earth materials, including tungsten, tellurium, ruthenium, and molybdenum

Additionally, China labeled PVH Corp (NYSE:PVH) and Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) as unreliable entities and launched an antitrust investigation into Google—a move that could weigh on Alphabet’s earnings report.

Oil Drops, Gold Holds, Bitcoin Rebounds

• Oil prices fell as traders braced for economic slowdowns from the tariff battle:
  • WTI crude: -1.9% to $71.78/barrel
  • Brent crude: -1.2% to $75.05/barrel
• Gold remained strong as a safe-haven asset amid trade uncertainty.
• Bitcoin surged 3% to $98,221, breaking back above $100,000 overnight on news of Trump delaying tariffs on Canada and Mexico.

Alphabet Earnings in Focus

Alphabet reports earnings today, with analysts watching closely for updates on AI spending. This comes after Chinese AI startup DeepSeek introduced a low-cost AI model rivaling OpenAI’s ChatGPT, raising concerns over the massive expenditures on AI by Silicon Valley giants.

Markets continue to whipsaw, so patience is key while waiting for the next OP alert play. See you in chat!

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