US stock futures wavered on Friday as investors weighed President Trump's fresh round of punishing tariffs and waited for a fresh inflation reading to test rate-cut bets.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) inched up roughly 0.2%, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) ticked up 0.1%. Meanwhile, contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) swung between slight gains and falls, with the major US gauges coming off a third straight day of losses.

Investors are treading carefully as they get to grips with Trump's threat to put a 100% levy on imports of branded drugs. The rate will apply to any pharma company that isn't already building a manufacturing plant in the US, the president said in a social media post late Thursday, but offered no further details. Shares of drugmakers in Europe and Asia faltered after the move.

Imports of heavy trucks and certain categories of furniture also face new heftier tariffs, Trump said, with the new duties to come into effect on Oct. 1 — less than a week away.

The trade salvo adds fresh uncertainty for markets already grappling with jitters about the AI boom, a high risk of US government shutdown, and signs of a resilient economy that have dented the case for more Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is eyeing its first weekly loss this month after a Wall Street slump snapped a record-setting rally.

That has intensified the already high focus on the August print of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due later Friday. The Personal Consumption Expenditures index update is expected to show an easing in price pressures when it is released at 8:30 a.m. ET, with growth of 0.3% month-on-month and 2.7% year-on-year forecast.

Meanwhile, Trump signed an order approving a deal to spin off TikTok's US operations from China's ByteDance, though Beijing still needs to sign off on the agreement. But the proposed $14 billion price tag was greeted with surprise on Wall Street, seen as undervaluing a global leader in social media estimate to potentially be worth $40 billion.

Pharmaceutical stocks across Asia fell overnight Thursday following Trump's announcement that starting October 1, imports of branded drugs could face tariffs of up to 100%, unless manufacturers have already begun construction of production facilities in the United States.

Reuters reports:

Japan's Sumitomo Pharma (DNPUF) tumbling 4.3% and Australia's CSL (CSL.AX) plummeting to a six-year low.

In Japan, Otsuka Holdings (OTSKY) dropped 3.5%, and Daiichi Sankyo (DSNKY) lost 1.6%, although Takeda Pharmaceutical added 0.2% and Shionogi gained 1.3%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Biotech Index (HSHKBIO.HK) was down about 1.4%.

India's pharmaceutical stock index fell 2.6%, with declines among all 20 members, even though its industry is dominated by generic drugs excluded from the tariffs. Heavyweight Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was down 3.4%.

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Oil prices rose overnight Thursday amid continued Ukrainian militry pressure on Russian production facilities. The commodity is looking to record its largest weekly gain in over three months.

Reuters reports:

Brent futures (BZ=F) climbed 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $69.57 a barrel by 0100 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude futures gained 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.21 a barrel.

\\"Gains were supported by ongoing Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian oil infrastructure, NATO's warning to Russia it is ready to respond to future violations of its airspace and Russia's move to halt key fuel exports,\\" IG analyst Tony Sycamore said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday the country would introduce a partial ban on diesel exports until the end of the year and extend an existing ban on gasoline exports.

The fall in capacity to refine oil has pushed Moscow close to reducing crude output. Several Russian regions are facing shortages of certain grades of fuel.

Both benchmarks reached their highest levels since August 1 this week, driven by a surprise drop in U.S. weekly crude inventories in addition to Ukraine's attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure.

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