U.S. Stock Futures Hold Steady After Rally Fueled by Trump’s Softer China Tone

The rebound came after President Donald Trump struck a surprisingly softer tone toward China, easing fears of renewed trade tensions and restoring some market confidence.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures were little changed.
• Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones futures edged higher by around 0.1%.
• In the cash session, all major indexes closed solidly higher — S&P 500 +1.6%, Nasdaq +2.2%, Dow Jones +1.3% — wiping out last week’s declines.

What Sparked the Optimism
Markets turned risk-on after Trump said, “Everything with China will be fine,” signaling a possible cooling of rhetoric between Washington and Beijing. Reports also suggest that Trump may meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month in South Korea — a move investors see as a positive sign for future dialogue.

Sector Leaders & Market Movers
The rebound was led by tech and industrial stocks.

• Broadcom jumped nearly 10% after announcing a collaboration with OpenAI to develop custom AI processors.
• Nvidia gained over 3%, riding the continued enthusiasm surrounding the AI and semiconductor sectors.

Key Risks Still Ahead
Despite Monday’s rally, uncertainty remains on several fronts:

• The U.S. government shutdown has entered its third week, delaying economic data releases.
• Investors are eyeing the Federal Reserve meeting later this month (Oct 28–29) for clues on policy direction.
• Upcoming earnings reports from major banks — JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo — could provide a clearer picture of the economy’s underlying strength.