Stocks futures slightly lower on Friday as investors weighed the latest on global trade after President Donald Trump held off on imposing new reciprocal tariffs. Futures linked to the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 98 points, or 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures edged down 0.1%. On Thursday, Trump signed a memorandum on laying out a plan to impose levies on goods from countries with duties on U.S. products. The new tariffs on take effect immediately. Instead, Trump tasked Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick to lead studies on the appropriate levies for each country. The lack of immediate tariffs boosted sentiment on Thursday, which saw equity markets move higher as investors also piled into technology stocks. Traders were also seemingly relieved after January’s producer price index, as well as the consumer price index report released earlier this week, that appeared to suggest a softer reading for the personal consumption expenditures price index. The PCE price index, which is due later this month, is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. While markets managed to end the previous trading session higher Siebert chief investment officer Mark Malek believes that this relief and positive momentum over a pause in reciprocal tariffs may be short-lived. “The market will have pressure on Friday — there was not enough clear stimulus for the market to trade this way … nothing that would justify this late-day move. I listened very carefully to the president speaking, and there was nothing in there that stood out to me as great for the market,” he said. “Friday is going to be one of those days where people are going to try to figure out what this all means.” For now, the major averages are all on pace to end the week higher. The S&P 500 and the Dow are set for a gain of about 1.5% and 0.9%, respectively. The Nasdaq is 2.2% higher this week. U.S. Treasury yields were little changed on Friday as investors digested the latest inflation reading, and awaited further economic data. At 6:33 a.m. ET, the 10-year Treasury yield was up less than 1 basis point at 4.529%, while the 2-year Treasury yield was down 2 basis points at 4.295%. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday, after Wall Street rose overnight as President Donald Trump signed a reciprocal tariffs plan, but did not enact the levies immediately. Mainland China’s CSI 300 Index ended the day 0.87% higher. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index traded up 3.48% in its final hour, extending gains from the previous session. The HSI is on track to its highest weekly gain since October. South Korea’s Kospi closed up 0.31% at 2,591.05, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 0.94% to end the day at 756.32. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day 0.79% lower at 39,149.43, while the broader Topix index lost 0.23% to close at 2,759.21. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.19% higher at 8,555.80. In Southeast Asia, Singapore’s economy expanded by 4.4% in 2024, its fastest growth since 2021, data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry shows. GDP was up 5% year on year in the fourth-quarter of 2024, surpassing the 4.7% growth rate expected by Reuters. Investors have been watching the city-state’s Straits Times Index which hit an all-time high at the start of the week. It was trading 0.19% lower in its last hour of trade. Oil prices rose on Friday and were poised to end three weeks of decline, buoyed by rising fuel demand and expectations that U.S. plans for global reciprocal tariffs would not come into effect until April, giving more time to avoid a trade war. Brent futures were up 39 cents, or 0.5%, at $75.41 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $71.57. Both contracts were on track for weekly gains of about 1%. Gold prices held steady on Friday and were poised for a seventh consecutive weekly gain as U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on every country taxing U.S. imports fueled concerns of a global trade war. Spot gold held its ground at $2,929.05 per ounce, as of 0303 GMT. Bullion hit a record peak of $2,942.70 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,957.40.