Stock futures were under pressure Thursday as investors sought out more clarity on the latest U.S. tariff measures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 378 points, or around 0.9%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures lost 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively. U.S. tariffs on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese imports took effect this week, rocking financial markets. Canada and China responded with retaliatory levies of its own, while Mexico said it would unveil measures over the weekend. The major averages have lost more than 1% this week as trade tensions escalate. But the benchmarks got a boost Wednesday after the White House said it would grant a one-month delay for tariffs on automakers whose cars comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. This development fueled traders’ hopes that Trump could provide further exemptions. Yet some on Wall Street questioned the effectiveness of these exceptions. “Exempting auto makers for just one month from draconian tariffs is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound … given the torrent of trade/tariff announcements planned by the White House in the coming months,” Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge wrote. A continued unwind of the popular artificial intelligence trade that has boosted the market for more than a year also hurt Thursday’s premarket. Notably, chipmaker Marvell Technology dropped more than 16% after the company issued mixed first-quarter guidance. Other semiconductor builders such as ON Semiconductor, Taiwan Semiconductor and Nvidia also slid before the bell. A string of recent economic reports also raised alarm that Trump’s policies could hinder the U.S. economy. Those came ahead of Friday’s closely watched jobs report. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing reading both indicated fear of rising input costs because of the tariffs. A report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas released Thursday showed layoff announcements soared to 2020 highs, which the outplacement firm found was due in part to Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government’s workforce. U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Thursday as investors breathed a sigh of relief over the potential for tariff exemptions and awaited key jobs data. At 6:48 a.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed over four basis points to 4.309%. The 2-year Treasury yield was up 1 basis point at 3.994%. Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher Thursday, as Wall Street rose overnight after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed tariffs on certain automakers. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.77% to close at 37,704.93, while the Topix climbed 1.22% to end the trading day at 2,751.41. Yields of Japanese government bond yields have surged, with the 10-year Japanese bond yield hitting its highest level since 2009, data from LSEG showed. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.7% to close at 2,576.16 while the small-cap Kosdaq fell 1.61% to close at 734.92. South Korea’s consumer inflation for February rose 2% year on year, more than Reuters estimates of a 1.95% increase, and slower than the 2.2% gain in January. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 2.47% at the open while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 1.38% to close at 3,956.24 after Beijing on Wednesday announced plans to raise its fiscal deficit to “around 4%” of GDP, a rare increase that marks a meaningful shift in policy. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.57% to close at 8,094.7. Oil prices were steady on Thursday, recovering slightly from a multi-year low, though Brent was still below $70 under pressure from trade tariffs between the U.S., Canada, Mexico and China and OPEC+ plans to raise output. Those factors and a larger than expected build in U.S. crude inventories had sent Brent as low as $68.33 on Wednesday, its weakest since December 2021. Brent futures were up 28 cents, or 0.4%, at $69.58 a barrel on Thursday while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 32 cents, or 0.5%, to $66.63. Gold prices fell about 1% on Thursday as investors booked profits following a three-day rally, with markets eyeing U.S. jobs data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate path amid rising global trade tensions. Spot gold, which dipped 0.5% to $2,904.51 an ounce as of 1211 GMT, has gained over 10% year-to-date. It hit a record high of $2,956.15 on February 24. U.S. gold futures also dropped 0.5% to $2,912.10.