Stock futures crept higher late Monday as 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada were set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time.
U.S. stocks fell in regular trading Monday after President Trump said that the tariffs would go ahead, saying there was no room left for negotiations with America’s neighbors. The U.S. is also raising tariffs on Chinese imports by 10%, effective at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, adding to the 10% tariffs Trump imposed on China in early February, as well as other duties already in place.
“The biggest concern with tariffs is that we could get stagflation,” said Larry Tentarelli, who as chief technical strategist for Blue Chip Daily Trend Report analyzes market data for trading signals. “The market thinks that if tariffs go into place, then prices could go up, and economic growth could slow.”
S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Dow futures were up 0.1% in after-hours trading, while Nasdaq-100 futures rose 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar fell to its lowest level in more than nine years during Monday trading.
Volatility ticked up. The Cboe Volatility Index, which measures Wall Street’s expectations of looming volatility, rose 16% to 22.78.
Read More: Trump Says 25% Tariffs on Canada, Mexico Take Effect at Midnight