U.S. stock index futures fell sharply on Wednesday after China announced more levies on U.S. goods, retaliating to President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs that took effect earlier in the day.

Market Snapshot

At 08:23 a.m., Dow E-minis were down 874 points, or 2.3%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 2.08% to 4,916 and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 307.75 points, or 1.78%.

Pre-Market Movers

Wal-Mart was down 0.8% in premarket trading after the world's largest retailer said the range of outcomes for first-quarter operating income growth had widened, citing Trump's latest tariffs. Walmart pointed to "less favorable category mix, higher casualty claims expense, and the desire to maintain flexibility to invest in price as tariffs are implemented."

Apple fell 2% in premarket trading to $169.40. Shares had been rising after they were upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies but the price target was reduced to $167.88 from $202.33. The stock closed down 5% on Tuesday and has dropped 23% over the past four trading sessions after President Donald Trump announced higher-than-expected tariffs. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump wants iPhones to be manufactured in the U.S., but analysts believe domestic iPhone manufacturing isn't tenable on a financial basis.

The rest of the Magnificent Seven also finished Tuesday's session with losses. Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon.com, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Tesla fell as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 2.2%. Meta and Netflix Fell 2%. Microsoft declined 0.9% on Tuesday but moved ahead of Apple as the most valuable public company. Microsoft closed with a market capitalization of $2.636 trillion, according to Dow Jones Market Data, versus Apple's $2.59 trillion. Microsoft fell 1.4% in premarket trading.

Tesla Motors was down 0.6% in premarket trading after falling 4.9% on Tuesday. CEO Elon Musk, not a fan of tariffs, ripped into Peter Navarro, the architect of Trump's trade policy. Musk on Tuesday called Navarro a "moron" after Navarro said Musk was a "car assembler," and said the CEO was "protecting his own interests." Coming into Wednesday, shares of the electric-vehicle company have fallen 45% this year.

Delta Air Lines reported first-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts' estimates as revenue rose 3.3% but the carrier said it was withholding its full-year outlook because of "broad economic uncertainty." The stock was up 1%.

Trump has big plans for the U.S. coal industry, giving a boost to coal producers, which rose sharply Tuesday. Peabody Energy finished Tuesday with a gain of 9.2% and was jumping 12% in the premarket session. Core Natural Resources rose 6.6% on Tuesday. The president signed an executive order on Tuesday to designate coal as a "critical mineral" for national security, similar to minerals like uranium.

NVIDIA was down slightly in premarket trading. The maker of artificial-intelligence chips dropped 1.4% on Tuesday to close at $96.30. Coming into Wednesday, Nvidia shares have fallen 28% this year. The declines have attracted some to purchase the stock, including Cathie Wood's flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund, which bought a total of 343,657 shares of Nvidia on Monday and Tuesday.

Cal-Maine Foods reported a huge jump in fiscal third-quarter earnings as sales more than doubled following a spike in egg prices but the results missed analysts' estimates. The company also said it was cooperating with a Justice Department investigation into the causes of the rise in U.S. egg prices. The stock was down 5.1%.

Constellation Energy was little changed after analysts at Citi upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $232. The analysts said Constellation Energy's "as the stock's "risk-reward profile looks more attractive" after a recent selloff. Shares have declined 14% over the past month.

Ford Motor fell 2.6% to $8.44. The auto maker was downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Bernstein. Ford imports about 20% of the cars it sells in the U.S., but tariffs on imported parts will raise costs.

Market News

China adds US companies to lists for export control, unreliable entities

China's commerce ministry on Wednesday added 12 U.S. companies to its export control list and six to its unreliable entities list, effective Thursday, according to ministry statements.

Companies added to the export control list include American Photonics and Novotech. Exports of dual-use items to these companies will be banned.

China trade escalation unfortunate, loss for them, US Treasury secretary says

China's move to impose 84% retaliatory tariffs against the United States is unfortunate and a losing proposition for Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.

"I think it's unfortunate that the Chinese actually don't want to come and negotiate, because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system," Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network.