Stock futures rise as investors monitor Trump tariff developments: Live updates

Stock futures rose slightly Wednesday as investors monitor the latest tariff updates from President Donald Trump.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 82 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures moved up 0.2% along with Nasdaq-100 futures.

Traders were on guard during Tuesday's session as Trump rolled out new updates to his tariff policy.

The S&P 500 inched down 0.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.03%. The 30-stock Dow lost nearly 0.4%. Global stock markets, in particular the Nikkei 225 in Japan and South Korea's Kospi and Europe's Stoxx 600 index, posted modest gains just a day after Trump announced sharp tariffs on 14 countries.

On Tuesday, Trump said in a Truth Social post that there would be no change or extensions on the raft of duties he announced on those nations, which include Japan and South Korea. The new tariff rates range from 25% to 40% and are set to begin on Aug. 1.

Trump on Tuesday also announced a 50% levy on copper imports and hinted that further sector-specific tariffs will soon be announced. He threatened Tuesday afternoon to impose up to 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S., but said that he will “give people about a year, year and a half” until the duties go into effect.

“The tariff announcement was a reminder that markets are not out of the woods. The White House has not really achieved their goals on trade, and that could be a continued source of volatility,” said Scott Helfstein, Global X head of investment strategy.

In addition to watching further tariff policy developments on Wednesday, traders will be monitoring the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its last meeting.

Copper eases after Tuesday's jump to record high

Copper prices pulled back 2% to $5.5335 per pound after hitting their highest levels on record on Tuesday following Trump's announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports.

Despite Wednesday's decline, copper futures remain 37% higher for the year.

Goldman Sachs highlights these buy-rated stocks that offer solid dividends

Investors could take a look at stocks that offer steady dividends and strong growth promises as a way to hedge their portfolios against times of market volatility.

Goldman Sachs highlighted several stocks that it likes that offer strong dividend yields and dividend growth, and whose payouts are well covered by earnings. The firm particularly likes dividend growth stocks, meaning companies that have a history of increasing their payouts.

Among the names Goldman listed are buy-rated Lowe's and NextEra Energy. Read here in CNBC Pro for Goldman's top dividend picks.

Jeff Bezos sells $666 million in Amazon shares as part of stock sale plan

Jeff Bezos sold nearly three million shares worth $665.8 million over two days in July, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing. The stock sale is part of a plan announced earlier this year that entails Bezos will unload up to 25 million shares of Amazon through May 2026.

The Amazon founder, who stepped down as CEO of the company in 2021, also sold $736.7 million in stock during the final days of June. He still has more than 900 million shares of Amazon valued at close to $200 billion, and remains the largest shareholder of the e-commerce giant.

Stock futures open little changed

Stock futures opened little changed Tuesday night.

Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures edged higher by 0.02% and 0.1%, respectively. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 12 points, or 0.03%.