US stock-index futures and the dollar fell early Monday as investors remained on edge amid US trade talks with Japan and the European Union and criticism of the Federal Reserve by President Donald Trump.

The dollar fell against major peers with the euro and Swiss franc outperforming, while the yen extended its gains against the greenback to the strongest level since September. Equity-index futures for Japan, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 all pointed to declines for stocks. Markets in Australia and Hong Kong remained shut for holidays. Treasuries were set to reopen for Asian trading.

Investors are looking for clues on outcomes of the country-specific discussions on tariffs after Trump cited big progress in Japan-US negotiations. Trump last week — frustrated that the Fed hasn’t moved to lower interest rates — posted on social media that Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough!” The president hasn’t clarified whether that means he intends to find a way to fire the Fed chief, or is simply eager for Powell’s term to end as scheduled in May 2026.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee warned against efforts to curtail the central bank’s independence, days after Trump expressed his displeasure with Powell.

“There’s virtual unanimity among economists that monetary independence from political interference — that the Fed or any central bank be able to do the job that it needs to do — is really important,” Goolsbee said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.

In commodities, oil traders will be closely monitoring geopolitical developments after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Kremlin forces of violating a 30-hour Easter Sunday truce declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Purchasing manager indexes from Japan to Europe to the US will offer the first coordinated glimpse of manufacturing and services activity since Trump’s global tariffs — now partly on hold — were unleashed on April 2. Business surveys from major economies are also on the calendar.

US company earnings also continues, with Tesla Inc. and Alphabet Inc. the first of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” due to report this week.

In Asia, the week kicks off with China reporting loan prime rates on Monday with economists predicting a steady outcome. Elsewhere, Indonesia publishes trade data for March while the Philippines is likely to post another balance-of-payments surplus for March.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

  • S&P 500 futures fell 0.5% as of 8:30 a.m. Tokyo time

Currencies

  • The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%

  • The euro rose 0.4% to $1.1442

  • The Japanese yen rose 0.4% to 141.61 per dollar

  • The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2997 per dollar

  • The Australian dollar rose 0.1% to $0.6386

Cryptocurrencies

  • Bitcoin was little changed at $85,085.34

  • Ether fell 0.3% to $1,584.12

Commodities

  • West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.4% to $63.78 a barrel

  • Spot gold rose 0.7% to $3,349 an ounce

. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.Investors are looking for clues on outcomes of the country-specific discussions on tariffs after Trump cited big progress in Japan-US negotiations.  Read MoreMarkets, Bloomberg 

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