US STOCKS-US stock futures gain as big bank results roll in; China hits back with tariffs

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

April 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Friday following earnings from big banks including JPMorgan, while markets also assessed the latest escalation in the trade war with China increasing its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%.

JPMorgan Chase JPM.N jumped 3.5% and Wells Fargo WFC.N gained 1.2% before the bell after both the banks reported a higher profit, kicking off the quarterly earnings season.

Asset manager BlackRock BLK.N was up 2.2% after its first-quarter results, while Morgan Stanley MS.N is scheduled to report before markets open.

Meanwhile, China retaliated after U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on the country by lifting tariffs to an effective rate of 145%, even as he announced a 90-day tariff reprieve on most trading partners.

Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride in response to tariff announcements in the past few days. Wall Street fell for four straight sessions, before bouncing back on Wednesday with the S&P 500 .SPX seeing its largest one-day percentage jump since October 2008.

Stocks, however, slumped again on Thursday and were more than 7% off from levels seen before last week, when Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs sparked the market rout.

"The significant tariffs on China will cause economic disruption if they remain in place ... while downside risks do remain, we believe the risk of a more severe economic downturn is now more limited," Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management said.

At 06:58 a.m., Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 238 points, or 0.60%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 37.5 points, or 0.71%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 135.5 points, or 0.73%.

Most megacap and growth stocks edged higher after initial losses in premarket trade, with gains in Apple AAPL.O, Nvidia NVDA.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O.

Investors sought refuge in traditional safe-haven assets such as gold XAU=, which jumped to a record high. Safe-haven currencies such as the Japanese yen JPY= and Swiss franc CHF= also strengthened against the dollar.

The rally in the precious metal lifted gold miners, with Newmont NEM.N and U.S.-listed shares of Barrick Gold ABX.TO rising 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively.

On the data front, a monthly reading of producer prices is expected at 8.30 a.m. ET on Friday, which can provide more insights on the inflation trajectory amid worries of Trump's tariffs hampering global growth.

Treasury yields remained elevated after a steep bond selloff earlier this week. The yield on the 10-year note US10YT=RR was at 4.393%, hovering near its February highs.

At least three Fed officials, including New York Fed President John Williams, are scheduled to speak throughout the day.

Traders currently expect more than 90 basis points of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, starting in June, according to LSEG data.