U.S. stock index futures slipped slightly Wednesday, with investors remaining on edge in anticipation of more cues on trade tariffs, ahead of a string of upcoming economic readings and corporate earnings.

At 06:00 ET (10:00 GMT), Dow Jones Futures slipped 57 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures fell 11 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures retreated 55 points, or 0.3%.

The main averages eked out gains on Tuesday, with markets breathing a sigh of relief after recent media reports suggested that Trump’s anticipated April 2 tariffs would be more limited than expected.

Tariff uncertainty builds 

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs remained a major point of focus ahead of an April 2 announcement on more tariff measures, with recent reports having suggested these measures may be more targeted than originally thought, aiming at about 15 countries that the White House believes have a trade imbalance with the U.S.

The president has said that he will seek to limit exceptions to his plans to impose more trade tariffs, as his April 2 deadline for reciprocal duties approaches.

But the president told Newsmax’s Greg Kelly in a Tuesday evening interview that he did not “want to have too many exceptions” to his upcoming levies, which he has previously threatened could match foreign duties placed on U.S. goods.

“I’ll probably be more lenient than reciprocal, because if I was reciprocal, that would be very tough for people,” Trump said.

Economic data, Fed speakers in focus 

Focus this week is on a slew of key U.S. economic indicators for more cues on growth and interest rates, while several Federal Reserve officials are also set to speak in the coming days.

Fears of a U.S. recession had battered Wall Street over the past month, especially in the face of trade disruptions stemming from Trump’s tariffs, with Tuesday’s Conference Board survey showing that confidence has fallen to the lowest in four years. 

Durable goods data for February is due later in the session, while a revised reading on fourth quarter gross domestic product is due on Thursday.

PCE price index data – the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge – is due on Friday, and is likely to factor into the central bank’s outlook on interest rates.

Several Fed officials – including Chicago Fed President Neel Kashkari and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin – are set to speak in the coming days.

Corporate earnings due 

Traders will also be keeping tabs on a slate of corporate returns due out prior to the opening bell on Wall Street.

Online pet food retailer Chewy (NYSE:CHWY), budget retailer Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR), uniform provider Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS), and payrolls service Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) are set to unveil their latest earnings.

Among major premarket movers, GameStop (NYSE:GME) soared over 10% after its management approved a plan to buy Bitcoin with excess cash holdings.

Crude edges higher 

Oil prices climbed higher Wednesday, continuing to rise on supply concerns as well as a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories.

At 06:00 ET, Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $72.84 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 0.7% to $69.45 a barrel.

Both benchmarks hit their highest in three weeks in the previous session, boosted by renewed efforts from the U.S. to limit Venezuelan and Iranian oil exports.

Also helping the tone was the news from the American Petroleum Institute that showed U.S. crude inventories fell by 4.6 million barrels last week,  a bigger drop than expected.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the session.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)