Trump threatens to raise tariffs on Chinese products
U.S. stock index futures were pointing to a lower Wednesday open, after President Donald Trump vowed to hike tariffs on Chinese goods if the two sides fail to reach a phase one deal.
The president said that a significant phase-one deal with China could happen soon. He, however, warned that his administration will only accept a deal that is good for the United States.
“If we don’t make a deal, we’re going to substantially raise those tariffs. They’re going to be raised very substantially. And that’s going to be true for other countries that mistreat us too,” Trump said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday.
As of 4:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 100 points, or about 0.36% to 27,563. The S&P 500 futures dropped 11.12 points, or around 0.36% to 3,080.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures declined 37 points, or roughly 0.45% to 8,238.
Powell goes to the Hill
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell will testify on the economic outlook before the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee at 11:00 a.m. ET today. He is also set to appear before the House Budget Committee on Thursday.
The central bank has slashed borrowing rates three times since his last testimony on Capitol Hill in July. Analysts are not expecting Powell to say anything market moving.
Tech Data to be acquired by Apollo Global Management for $130/share
Tech Data (NASDAQ: TECD), a Florida-based distributor of IT equipment, has agreed to be acquired for $5.4 billion, or $130 per share by Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), the companies said Wednesday.
The offer represents a 24.5% premium to TECD’s 30-day average closing price ending Oct. 15, 2019, before reports of a potential buyout first emerged. Shares of Tech Data inched 4.42% higher $130.95 in premarket trading.
Public impeachment hearings kick off today
Elsewhere, investors will be paying some attention to the first public hearings in the Trump impeachment probe at 10:00 a.m. ET. Two key diplomatic officials are set to appear before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee.
The inquiry was launched by Democrats after a whistleblower’s complaint about a July 25 phone call between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
