Dow futures rose about 260 points, or roughly 0.5% on Monday, driven by growing optimism over a potential US-China trade deal.
This followed weekend discussions leading to a preliminary agreement to ease trade tensions, such as suspending tariffs and export restrictions.
Investor sentiment was further boosted by anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut later this week and the upcoming earnings reports from major tech firms.
The Dow’s positive futures indicated confidence in further gains after the index recently hit record highs, buoyed by easing inflation data and improved trade prospects.
5 things to know before Wall Street opens
1. A healthy rally in US stock futures came after US President Donald Trump embarked on a five-day Asia tour starting October 26, 2025, aiming to finalize a major trade deal with China.
The officials from the US and Chinese sides have already agreed on a basic framework, which would avert the planned 100% tariffs on Chinese imports set for November 1.
The deal involves suspending tariffs, resolving TikTok’s US operations sale, and delaying China’s export controls on critical minerals.
The positive developments have increased the optimism around the high-profile summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea on October 30.
2. The US government shutdown has now stretched into its 27th day on Monday, making it the second-longest in history.
Efforts in the Senate to pass a bill that would reopen the government through November 21 keep stalling along party lines, and the House isn’t even in session right now.
The stakes are getting serious: funding for food assistance programs that serve about 42 million Americans is expected to dry up starting November 1, raising fears of widespread hardship.
The shutdown is also delaying the start of open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, President Trump is overseas on a trade trip in Asia, complicating chances of a near-term resolution. Federal workers are still going without pay, and political tensions in Washington are only getting worse.
3. Q3 2025 earnings season hit a key moment on Monday, with a wave of major companies releasing results.
So far, S&P 500 earnings are growing at about 9.2%, better than the early estimate of 7.9%. Revenue growth is strong too at 7%, the best we’ve seen since Q3 of 2022.
On Monday, companies like Waste Management, NXP Semiconductors, Cadence Design Systems, and Nucor all reported, and the trend continues: roughly 87% of firms have beaten their earnings-per-share forecasts.
The real action kicks in mid-week, when the big tech names as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet, all report between Wednesday and Friday.
Overall, markets are feeling upbeat, with more than three-quarters of reporting companies topping EPS expectations and earnings momentum helping push stocks higher.
4. Shares of US-listed rare earth mining companies fell sharply on Monday, as US officials indicated that China is likely to delay implementing export controls on critical minerals.
Companies like Critical Metals dropped nearly 8%, USA Rare Earth fell 7.4%, and MP Materials declined by 5.2%.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that a framework deal to prevent new tariffs and delay China’s rare earth export restrictions is expected, reflecting progress in broader US-China trade talks.
5. Global markets rallied on Monday, boosted by growing optimism around a possible US–China trade deal. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei jumped more than 2.5% and crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time ever.
South Korea’s Kospi wasn’t far behind, rising 2.6% to a new record. China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng each gained over 1%, and India’s Sensex was up about 0.6%.
Europe followed the same upbeat trend; the STOXX 600 rose around 0.3%, inching close to its all-time high.
Hopes of progress in trade talks, along with growing expectations of a US Federal Reserve rate cut, helped lift sentiment around the world, powering a broad-based market rally.
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