Dow futures remain slightly elevated, as markets prepare for a significant day marked by crucial bank earnings and a new assessment of inflationary trends. Wall Street’s lending giants are expected to report enhanced returns, supported in part by a notably resilient economic environment. Consumer prices are anticipated to rise at an accelerated pace in June. In other developments, China’s economy has shown a slight growth exceeding expectations in the second quarter, while Nvidia has announced its imminent ability to resume sales of its H20 AI chip in China.

Dow futures experienced a modest uptick on Tuesday, as investors positioned themselves in anticipation of significant earnings reports from major banking institutions and prepared for the forthcoming monthly inflation data release. Dow futures contract remained largely stable, while S&P 500 futures experienced a modest increase of 16 points, representing a 0.3% rise, and Nasdaq 100 futures saw an uptick of 99 points, or 0.4%. The principal indices on Wall Street experienced an uptick in the previous session, as a series of artificial intelligence-related developments alleviated concerns regarding new U.S. threats of imposing punitive tariffs on Europe and Mexico. Markets reacted to a social media post from Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who indicated that the Facebook owner intends to allocate “hundreds of billions” of dollars towards AI computing power. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported that President Donald Trump is set to announce a $70 billion investment aimed at AI and energy. Market participants are closely monitoring an upcoming series of quarterly earnings reports, which may offer insights into corporate expectations regarding future returns amid escalating global trade tensions. Analysts at Vital Knowledge noted that the initial trickle of figures from groups like Delta Air Lines and Levi Strauss have been “encouraging,” but flagged that four European chemical firms have slashed their guidance.

Attention is poised to transition to Wall Street, where a number of major U.S. lenders are anticipated to disclose their results prior to the opening bell. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are among the banks slated to open their books, as well as asset management titan BlackRock. These names, often regarded as the unofficial commencement of the three-month reporting period and seen as indicators of the broader business landscape, are anticipated to yield enhanced profits primarily due to robust trading activity and a subdued rebound in investment banking. It is anticipated that the majority of the large lenders will report a modest increase in net interest income (NII), falling within the low-to-mid single digit percentage range. NII serves as a critical metric for assessing a bank’s earnings from loans in relation to the interest it disburses on deposits. During the second quarter of 2025, data indicated that the U.S. economy exhibited resilience in the face of various challenges, including the potential implications of Trump’s punitive tariff agenda and a temporary resurgence of violence in the Middle East. Inflation has remained relatively subdued and labor demand has shown considerable stability; however, analysts caution that the impending implementation of Trump’s aggressive “reciprocal” tariffs in early August could herald challenging times ahead.

Forecasts indicate that the consumer price index for the twelve months ending in June is expected to register at 2.6%, reflecting a modest increase from the 2.4% observed in May. The month-on-month figure is anticipated to register at 0.3%, an acceleration from the prior reading of 0.1%. The “core” CPI, which excludes volatile components such as food and fuel, is projected to be 3.0% on a year-over-year basis and 0.3% on a monthly basis. In a recent note, analysts at ING observed that markets have not appeared “fazed” by Trump’s recent escalation of his global trade war, which they contend indicates a “continued wait-and-see approach” to the levies. “Markets will likely be more interested in the impact from Trump’s trade tantrums on the underlying economic data,” the analysts noted. However, they noted that any interpretation of the numbers may be complicated by the uncertainty surrounding the subsequent effects of numerous businesses securing orders prior to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement in April.

China’s economy demonstrated notable resilience in the first half of 2025, maintaining its full-year official growth target despite the tariff challenges posed by Trump. The second-largest economy globally experienced growth that surpassed expectations in the April-June quarter, as indicated by gross domestic product data released on Tuesday. GDP expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in the quarter ending June 30, surpassing the anticipated growth of 5.1%, although it represents a slight decrease from the 5.4% recorded in the previous quarter. In the latest quarter, GDP experienced a growth of 1.1%, surpassing the anticipated figure of 0.9%. This resulted in China’s GDP for the first half of 2025 reaching 5.3%, aligning with forecasts and surpassing the government’s annual target of 5%. Despite episodes of escalating trade tensions, the economic repercussions from U.S. tariffs were constrained, as China faced merely a month of significant duties before both nations reached an agreement to deescalate in mid-May. Chinese export growth exhibited resilience in May and June, supported by strong demand from other significant markets. In June, Washington and Beijing reached an agreement to further deescalate their trade conflict. Analysts continue to exercise caution regarding China’s economy, which is grappling with subdued domestic demand and an enduring property crisis that may compel Beijing to implement additional stimulus measures.

Nvidia Corporation announced on Monday that it will resume selling its H20 processor in China “soon,” as trade relations improve between Washington and Beijing, following CEO Jensen Huang’s meetings with officials from both sides. The AI-darling also announced a new graphical processing unit for China, which it asserted was optimal for artificial intelligence smart factories and logistics. The firm’s shares experienced a 3.6% increase during after-hours trading. Nvidia is “filing applications to sell” its H20 again and “the U.S. government has assured it that licenses will be granted,” stated the world’s most valuable listed company. The move follows Washington’s decision to lift several restrictions on the export of chip technology to China, having recently permitted chip design majors including Synopsys to resume sales in the country.