Stock futures rise amid uncertainty over economy and tariffs

Stock futures rose early Monday, although investors remained nervous about the Trump administration’s new round of tariffs, which has heightened concerns about rising inflation and a slowing economy.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.55% and 0.62%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 230 points, or 0.53%.

Stocks are coming off a volatile trading week in which each of the three major U.S. indexes ended with significant losses, halting weeks of mostly positive moves for the broader market.

The S&P 500 ended the week down 2.4%, marking its worst weekly performance since May 23, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.9% to post its worst week since April 4. The Nasdaq Composite ended the week down 2.2%.

Investors are now weighing what the weakening U.S. labor market could mean in the coming weeks. Traders are seeing reduced chances of a rate cut in September after policymakers left the benchmark overnight lending rate unchanged for a fifth straight meeting last week.

Oil price falls slightly after OPEC+ price hike

Oil prices fell on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to another large production increase and investors weighed the possibility of a global oversupply.

Brent crude oil
was trading at $69.53 a barrel, down 0.2% at 11:15 a.m. Singapore time (11:15 p.m. ET on Sunday).

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil
was down 0.1% at $67.27.

Spot gold prices fall on potential Fed rate cut

Spot gold prices fell on Monday after rising 2% to a one-week high in the previous session, following concerns about a weak U.S. jobs report and the possibility of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Prices for the yellow metal fell 0.22% to $3,355.37 an ounce as of 11:05 a.m. Singapore time (11:05 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday).

Citi Investment Research expects gold to reach $3,500 an ounce in the next three months, compared to $3,300 previously.

That’s because “the near-term outlook for cyclical growth and inflation in the U.S. has deteriorated recently,” as higher-than-forecast tariffs “are likely to lead to higher U.S. inflation,” analysts at the investment firm wrote on Monday.

Other factors that were taken into account included a weakening U.S. labor market and a bearish dollar, the analysts added.

On Sunday, OPEC+ agreed to increase oil output by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated production increases aimed at regaining market share as concerns grow about potential supply disruptions linked to Russia.

OPEC+ cited a healthy economy and low inventories as reasons for its decision.

“Given relatively strong oil prices around $70, this gives OPEC+ some confidence about the fundamentals of the market,” said Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects, adding that the market structure also indicates limited supplies.

In early Asian trade on Monday, Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.62%, to $69.24 a barrel by 22:18 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.94 a barrel, down 39 cents, or 0.58%, after both contracts closed about $2 a barrel lower on Friday.