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Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures stall after Trump pauses tariffs on Canada
Grace O’Donnell· Editor, Special Projects
Updated Wed, August 19, 2026 at 5:31 PM GMT+5:30
1 min read
US stocks wavered on Wednesday after President Trump paused tariffs on Canadian goods that were scheduled to take effect at midnight
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) rose 0.1%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) hovered near the flat line. Contracts for the Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) declined by 0.2%
Stocks are weathering a losing week on Wall Street as rising bond yields and oil prices weigh on the major indexes, compounded by a sell-off in tech stocks on Tuesday. Declines in Asian markets overnight pointed to little relief, with Japan’s Nikkei (^N225) index falling 3% and South Korea’s KOSPI (^KS11) index dropping over 5%
Futures markets were little changed after Trump posted on Truth Social late Tuesday night that he paused the 50% Canadian tariffs for three days “based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to the finalization of documents, have a DEAL!”
The announcement came after 11th-hour talks between Trump officials and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s team. While experts have said the tariffs would have had limited economic ramifications, they represent a strong signal of upcoming negotiations for the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA)
Investors will get the Fed’s meeting minutes from the FOMC’s July meeting later on Tuesday, which promise clues into policymakers’ debates on inflation, policy, and other key economic data
Earnings from Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), and TJX Companies (TJX) will also provide a look at consumer trends over the spring and summer
