Stocks were looking at a lower open, with the Trump administration’s tariff policies adding uncertainty to many stocks.
General Motors (GM) said it was pulling its earnings guidance for the year and reporting first-quarter earnings were lower than they were a year earlier.
💵💰Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter 💰💵
President Donald Trump’s auto tariffs have clouded the outlook and its prior forecast “can’t be relied upon,” the company said.
Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said the company would update the guidance once its executives have more clarity.
Related: Warren Buffett is entitled to gloat a little
“Given the evolving nature of the situation, we believe the future impact of tariffs could be significant,” Jacobson told reporters on a call Monday evening.
Trump gives automakers a break
Trump is expected to soften his automotive tariffs, preventing duties on foreign-made cars from stacking on top of other tariffs he has imposed and easing some levies on foreign parts used to manufacture cars in the U.S., The Wall Street Journal reported.
The decision will mean that automakers paying Trump’s automotive tariffs won’t also be charged for other duties, such as those on steel and aluminum.
The president was expected to take the actions ahead of a trip to Michigan for a rally near Detroit on Tuesday evening, marking 100 days since he took office.
Stocks flat, oil moves lower
Just before the open, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were trading lower. So were futures in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Crude oil was off $1 at $61.01. The 10-year Treasury yield had risen slightly to 4.235%.
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange earlier in April
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Coca-Cola calls tariffs manageable
Not everyone was seeing tariff stress. Coca-Cola (KO) shares were up premarket after the soft-drink giant’s first-quarter earnings of 73 cents beat the consensus Wall Street estimate by a penny.
Revenue fell 2% to $11.13 billion in the quarter, driven by currency headwinds and the impact of refranchising bottling operations.
But the company, a component of the Dow 30, said the impacts of global macro uncertainty would be “manageable.”
Related: Would you buy wine in a paper bottle? Target bets yes.
UPS to chop work force
United Parcel Service (UPS) said it was laying off 20,000 workers after curtailing its relationship with Amazon.com (AMZN) . The announcement came after UPS said it earned $1.19 billion on revenue of $21.5 billion. The package-delivery giant’s shares were up 2.7% to $99.67 premarket.
Spotify (SPOT) shares were down 6.9% to $566.02 preopen. The music-streaming service added more subscribers than expected in the first quarter, but earnings missed estimates.
More Economic Analysis:
Wall Street overhauls S&P 500 price targets as tariff selloff acceleratesInflation would like a word, pleaseStocks could bounce, but big bank earnings hold the cards
It’s a big day for earnings
The earning season has a big day on Tuesday. In addition to Coca-Cola and UPS, earnings are due after the close from:
Visa VBooking Holdings (BKNG) Starbucks (SBUX)
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
