Dow Jones futures fall due to US tariff concerns, US NFP eyed

• Dow Jones futures slide due to market caution ahead of the US Nonfarm Payrolls due on Friday.
• US PCE report indicated that price pressures would increase in the second half of 2025 and delay Fed rate cuts.
• Amazon declined around 7%, while Apple rose 2% during extended trading hours.

Dow Jones futures decline ahead of the US market opening on Friday, trading around 44,100, down by 0.46%, during European hours. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures are down by 0.41% to near 6,350, and Nasdaq 100 futures decline 0.46% to trade near 23,250.

US stock index futures decline as traders adopt caution ahead of the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP), due later in the North American session. The US NFP is expected to remain in positive territory in July, which could strengthen the odds of delaying US Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate cuts.

Additionally, this hawkish sentiment increased surrounding the Fed policy outlook following the recent US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index report, suggesting that price pressures would increase in the second half of 2025. Core US Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) inflation ticked higher in June, rising 0.3% MoM as many market participants had expected. On an annualized basis, PCE inflation accelerated to 2.6% YoY, outrunning the expected hold at 2.5%.

Meanwhile, the market sentiment remains subdued as President Trump's reciprocal tariffs are set to take effect later in the day, with the White House opting not to extend the deadline. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday, imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41%, set to go into effect on August 1, on US imports from dozens of countries and foreign locations, including Canada, India, and Taiwan. He also imposed a 39% tariff, one of the highest rates globally, on goods from Switzerland.

In futures markets, Amazon fell around 7% after issuing a weak revenue forecast for the third quarter, while Apple rose 2% on stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue. On Thursday, the regular market witnessed the Dow decline 0.74%, the S&P 500 slip 0.37%, and the Nasdaq edge down 0.03%. Advances in Microsoft and Meta failed to counter broader market weakness, weighed down by renewed trade tensions and ongoing economic uncertainty.