---
title: "U.S. Stock Market Outlook | Three Major Index Futures Decline Amid Uncertainty Over Trump's Tariffs"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/276603592.md"
description: "U.S. stock index futures all fell, with NASDAQ futures down 0.66%, S&P 500 futures down 0.46%, and Dow futures down 0.49%. The market fluctuated due to uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policy, with the dollar and U.S. stock futures declining, while spot gold rose to $5,170. Goldman Sachs noted that professional investors are preparing for a potential market breakout, despite the VIX volatility index being at a relatively low level"
datetime: "2026-02-23T13:08:09.000Z"
locales:
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  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/276603592.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/276603592.md)
---

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# U.S. Stock Market Outlook | Three Major Index Futures Decline Amid Uncertainty Over Trump's Tariffs

1.  As of February 23 (Monday) before the U.S. stock market opened, the futures of the three major U.S. stock indices fell together. As of the time of writing, Nasdaq futures were down 0.66%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.46%, and Dow futures were down 0.49%.

![0b529ffc1459e541e5c72c697c6c055.png](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20260223/1771851508220453.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg)

1.  As of the time of writing, the German DAX index was down 0.59%, the UK FTSE 100 index was up 0.35%, the French CAC 40 index was up 0.50%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 0.11%.

![f3da53542fe9d5bf14f6f054875d6f2.png](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20260223/1771851529731508.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg)

1.  As of the time of writing, WTI crude oil was up 0.36%, priced at $66.72 per barrel. Brent crude oil was up 0.31%, priced at $71.52 per barrel.

![98a51f24a78ddd5c36027d1ea74f275.png](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20260223/1771851539184260.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg)

## Market News

**Uncertainty over tariff policies sweeps through financial markets, with the dollar and U.S. stock futures declining, while spot gold rises above $5,170.** On Monday, the U.S. dollar index and the three major U.S. stock index futures fell, as the uncertainty and ambiguity surrounding Trump's tariff policy significantly weakened investor confidence in U.S. assets and intensified global market volatility risks. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the 20th that the U.S. government's imposition of large-scale tariffs was "overreaching," Trump immediately issued a new executive order, emphasizing that the U.S. government would continue to maintain existing import tariffs under the framework of Section 301 and Section 232, and hinted at initiating more trade investigations. As a result, market concerns over the uncertainty of Trump's next tariff policy actions have intensified, leading to weakness in the three major U.S. stock index futures. Spot gold rose above $5,170 per ounce, gaining 1.3% on the day.

**Demand for bearish protection in U.S. stocks reaches a four-year high, Goldman Sachs: Professional investors are preparing for "some kind of breakthrough."** Beneath the surface calm of the market, professional investors are buying downside protection with rare intensity. Goldman Sachs' latest data shows that despite the S&P 500 index trading within one of its narrowest ranges in history over the past two months, institutional investors' trading behavior resembles that of responding to extreme conditions where the VIX volatility index reaches 35—while the current VIX is only 19. This unusual divergence suggests that the market may be on the verge of a directional breakthrough. The urgency of this defensive positioning stems from the proximity of key technical levels. Goldman Sachs noted that the gamma value turns negative with a slight decline, which coincides precisely with the trigger threshold of its CTA momentum strategy Goldman Sachs emphasizes that this "extremely important" means the market may be preparing to reflect the severe volatility at the individual stock level that has persisted for some time.

**Super Week is coming! Turbulence from Trump's tariffs + escalating situation in Iran, Nvidia (NVDA.US) earnings report is highly anticipated.** Over the past week, policy has dominated market attention, with Friday welcoming the much-anticipated Supreme Court ruling that rejected President Trump's massive tariff system. Subsequently, Trump quickly signed a 10% global tariff in response to the Supreme Court ruling and stated on social media on the 21st that the "global import tariff" rate announced the day before on goods imported to the U.S. would immediately increase from 10% to 15%, highlighting that the global trade system is facing further challenges in stabilizing policies and growth, with undercurrents constantly changing. Oil prices, which are expected to decline steadily by 2025, have risen 15% since the beginning of 2026. This is largely attributed to tensions in Iran, with the latest developments showing that U.S. and Iranian negotiating representatives are expected to meet in Geneva this Thursday. Trump is inclined to implement targeted strikes on Iran in the coming days, with the possibility of launching larger-scale attacks in the coming months. The fourth-quarter earnings report of Nvidia, the "AI chip giant" and the most valuable chip company globally, will be released after the market closes on Wednesday Eastern Time. This earnings report will be a key barometer for the core driving force of the global stock market bull market—the artificial intelligence (AI) trading theme.

**In light of the tariff risks from the Trump administration, the EU plans to freeze the approval process for the trade agreement with the U.S.** Media reports indicate that the EU is preparing to suspend the approval process for its trade agreement with the U.S. and is requesting more details from the Trump administration regarding its new tariff plans. Major political groups in the European Parliament have stated that they will suspend legislative work on approving the trade agreement on Monday local time. Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Trump's use of emergency powers to implement so-called reciprocal tariffs globally was invalid. Zeljana Zovko, the chief representative of the European People's Party group responsible for U.S. trade agreement negotiations, stated, "We have no choice but to delay the approval process in order to clarify the situation."

**The tariffs deemed "illegal" by the U.S. Supreme Court are coming to an end! The 15% global new tax takes over seamlessly.** The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it will stop collecting the U.S. government's reciprocal tariff measures implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday—this comes more than three days after the U.S. Supreme Court declared these tariffs to be of "illegal" nature. The government agency stated in a message released to shippers via its Cargo System Messaging Service (CSMS) that it will discontinue all tariff policy codes related to President Trump's previous IEEPA-related executive orders starting Tuesday Eastern Time. Although after the Supreme Court's tariff ruling, President Trump told reporters that the U.S. government would soon impose a 15% tariff globally under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, it remains unclear whether the U.S. government will need to refund the tariffs that have already been collected **Storage chip giant SK Hynix: will expand AI storage chip production capacity to meet surging demand.** As its stock price has soared more than fourfold over the past year, setting profit records, SK Hynix's parent company SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-won has pledged to significantly expand AI storage chip production capacity to meet the surge in demand brought about by the global data center construction boom. The head of South Korea's second-largest conglomerate referred to high bandwidth memory (HBM) as "monster-level chips" at a conference in Washington on February 20, stating that this storage product line is generating huge profits for SK Hynix. This chip manufacturer is leading the global semiconductor industry in stock performance due to the explosive growth in demand for AI chips. American tech giants are engaged in a massive infrastructure race to gain an edge in AI technology development. From Microsoft and Meta to other tech giants, a total investment of approximately $650 billion is expected this year for AI-related infrastructure construction, an unprecedented scale of investment that directly drives demand for high-performance storage chips such as HBM, server DDR5, and enterprise-grade SSDs.

## Individual Stock News

**Arcellx (ACLX.US) stock price rises over 78% in pre-market trading, Gilead Sciences (GILD.US) to acquire Arcellx at $115 per share.** American pharmaceutical leader Gilead Sciences announced on Monday that it will acquire cancer treatment partner Arcellx, with the implied equity value of the latest acquisition reaching $7.8 billion, expanding their cell therapy development collaboration that began in 2022. Gilead will pay the acquisition price in cash at $115 per share upon completion of the transaction, a 79% premium over the stock's last closing price. Kite Pharma, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, has long collaborated with Arcellx to jointly develop and market anito-cel, an experimental CAR-T therapy for treating multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer).

**The U.S. Supreme Court will hear ExxonMobil (XOM.US) lawsuit for compensation from Cuba.** The U.S. Supreme Court will review the applicability of a law that allows American companies to seek compensation from the Cuban government for properties seized by Cuba, involving American oil and gas giant ExxonMobil (XOM.US). Meanwhile, the government led by U.S. President Donald Trump is increasing pressure on the Cuban government, which has also led to controversy for large energy operators. The court will hear two cases consecutively, both involving the 1996 U.S. law known as the Helms-Burton Act.

**Domino's Pizza (DPZ.US) reports solid fourth-quarter performance, dividend increased by 14.4%.** American pizza restaurant leader Domino's Pizza reported strong fourth-quarter performance, achieving 32 consecutive years of same-store sales growth in international markets and further increasing its market share in the U.S. Thanks to a 1.7% rise in food basket prices, increased profits for franchisees, and sales growth in both international and domestic markets, Domino's overall profit grew by 9%, with total sales increasing by 6.4%. The company raised its quarterly dividend by over 14%, offsetting the impact of adjusted earnings falling short of expectations and driving the stock price up nearly 6% in pre-market trading on Monday

## Important Economic Data and Event Forecast

21:00: Speech by Federal Reserve Governor Waller

23:00: U.S. December Factory Orders Month-on-Month

23:30: U.S. February Dallas Fed Business Activity Index, Manufacturing Output Index

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