Investing.com - U.S. futures were mostly flat on Wednesday as China disappointed hopes of major exemptions from tariffs for U.S. agricultural exporters and President Donald Trump renewed his attack on the Federal Reserve.
China published a list of products that will be exempt from 25% tariffs introduced last year, but did not include soybeans, pork or corn. Products exempted included cancer drugs and lubricant base oil. Tariffs on agricultural imports are among the most contentious issues in the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, as China is one of the biggest consumers of American soybeans.
President Trump tweeted that the exemptions were evidence that China is "being hit very hard" by the tariffs he has imposed, but drew more attention with a fresh attack on "boneheads" at the Fed, who he said should cut U.S. interest rates to "ZERO, or less".
Nasdaq 100 futures were flat at 7,817.38 by 6:42 AM ET (10:42 GMT), while Dow futures gained 44 points or 0.2% and S&P 500 futures were up 2 points or 0.1%.
GameStop (NYSE:GME) slumped 15.9% in premarket trade after its second-quarter sales fell short of expectations and the company lowered its comparable sales forecasts. Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY) declined 15.4% after the entertainment company lowered its outlook due to competition in the sector.
Elsewhere, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) inched up 0.1% on the back of its announcement of lower-priced iPhone models and $5 a month streaming service. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), whose dominance Apple is hoping to challenge, fell 1.0% on the prospect of Apple undercutting it, while Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS), another streaming rival, was unchanged after losing 2.2% on Tuesday.
AT&T (NYSE:T) gained 1.3% still supported by news of activist investor Elliott Management taking a stake in the company.
Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), which said Tuesday it was investing in an "animal-free cheese" maker, was up 0.7%.
In commodities, crude oil rose 1% to $57.97 a barrel. Gold futures were flat at $1,499.65 a troy ounce, while the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.2% to 98.520.