US stock futures pointed toward losses in Thursday's session after the major indexes staged a historic rally as President Trump paused many of his largest tariff hikes on trading partners .
Futures tied to the S&P 500 ( ES=F ) were down 0.3%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq ( NQ=F) fell 0.8%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ( YM=F ) slipped 0.1%.
Stocks are coming one of their biggest one-day rallies since World War II. The benchmark S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) had its best day since 2008, gaining 9.5%. The Dow ( ^DJI ) rallied nearly 3,000 points. The Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) posted its second-best day on record.
The moves came as markets breathed a loud, collective sigh of relief after Trump announced he was suspending most "reciprocal" tariffs on other countries for 90 days. Trump nodded to "yippy" stock and bond markets as a factor in his decision-making, even as the 10-year Treasury yield ( ^TNX ) remained higher around 4.4% after his announcement.
But Trump also embarked on a remarkable escalation in his trade battle with China, raising levies on those imports to a whopping 125%. And other parts of his trade-policy overhaul remain in effect, including a 10% baseline tariff on most trading partners, 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports, and 25% duties on auto imports .
Read more: Live updates on Trump tariffs fallout
Those elements could still lead to consequences economists have warned about, including rising prices and slower economic growth. Investors on Thursday will get a snapshot of a largely pre-tariff inflation picture with the release of March's Consumer Price Index.
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