Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were slightly higher after President Donald Trump endorsed cutting the tariff rate on China before weekend talks, but still leaving it a pretty severe level.

Futures tied to the were higher by 0.1%. were up 0.3%. climbed 0.3%.

"80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.," the president on Truth Social ahead of talks lead by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with China counterparts in Switzerland this weekend.

Trump has left a 145% tariff on China unchanged despite issuing a 90-day pause on higher rates for most countries last month. But there's been speculation lately that the administration would lower the rate significantly to de-escalate negotiations and jumpstart talks. Trump's Truth Social suggests he's willing to do this, but the new rate he suggests is still higher than many expected. Bloomberg News earlier that the rate could be lowered below 60% as soon as this week.

It was also unclear if the president is talking about a long-term tariff rate on China or a temporary one during negotiations.

Nonetheless, market sentiment has improved this week with Trump on Thursday announcing a with the U.K., which is the first deal between the U.S. and a global trading partner since Trump's "reciprocal" tariff announcement last month. Traders hope this will establish a framework for the U.S. to quickly strike more deals with major nations, even though a 10% tariff rate on the U.K. appears to be the baseline for the globe.

Trump even noted that the 10% rate represents the , and said in comments after the U.K. deal "some will be much higher because they have massive trade surpluses."

"While trade with the UK pales in comparison to trade with our neighbors to the North and South, and especially in comparison to China, it is an important test case and a model for what could be accomplished," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management. "If the administration can follow this up with additional agreements, it would go a long way toward healing a stock market that has been battered and bruised this year."

Stocks in the previous session though major averages ended the day off the highs, with Dow advancing 0.6% and the S&P 500 adding nearly 0.6%. The climbed about 1.1%.

Week to date, the S&P 500 is on pace for a 0.4% decline, while the Nasdaq is on track to drop 0.3%. The Dow is toting a modest gain of 0.1%, heading for its third positive week in a row.

Tech shares led premarket gains with Tesla and Apple slightly in the green.

Trump says 80% tariff on China "seems right"

President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post early Friday morning that "80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B." Trump's post comes ahead of an scheduled to take place between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer with their Chinese counterparts in Switzerland this weekend to talk trade and economic matters.

Trump has ratcheted up tariffs on China to 145%, despite lowering levies on most other countries since his early April tariff announcements. China has also retaliated by implementing steep tariffs on the U.S.

"CHINA SHOULD OPEN UP ITS MARKET TO USA — WOULD BE SO GOOD FOR THEM!!! CLOSED MARKETS DON'T WORK ANYMORE!!!" Trump wrote in a separate Friday morning Truth Social post.

— Pia Singh

Fed's Barr warns tariffs will push inflation higher

Fed Governor Michael Barr warned that Trump's tariffs on imports will likely lead to higher prices and lower growth later in the year.

"The size and scope of the recent tariff increases are without modern precedent, we don't know their final form, and it is too soon to know how they will affect the economy," .

"In my view, higher tariffs could lead to disruption to global supply chains and create persistent upward pressure on inflation," he said. "I am equally concerned that tariffs will lead to higher unemployment as the economy slows."

— Fred Imbert

China’s April exports jump 8.1% to beat estimates despite U.S. tariffs; import decline slows

China's exports surged in April even as businesses bore the brunt of U.S. tariffs that kicked into higher gear last month, while imports narrowed declines as Beijing stepped up stimulus.

Exports jumped 8.1% last month in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, according to data released by customs authority Friday, sharply beating with Reuters' poll estimates of a 1.9% rise.

Imports slumped by 0.2% in April from a year earlier, compared with the economists' expectations of a 5.9% drop.

Read the full story .

—Anniek Bao

Retail investor bullishness took a big leg up in latest week, hitting a 3-month high, AAII says

Main Street investors were the most bullish since early February in the latest weekly survey by the American Association of Individual Investors, rising to 29.4% of those responding, up from 20.9% last week. That was the highest reading since 33.3% described themselves as bullish toward the six-month outlook for stocks back on Feb. 5, shortly before stocks topped out on Feb. 19.

Still, it was the 17th week in 19 that bullishness was below the historic average of 37.5%.

The percentage of investors who said they were bearish dropped to 51.5% — the fewest since the week of Feb. 19 — from 59.3% last week. The historic average for bearishness is just 31.0% of investors.

The balance of investors said they were neutral on the short-term outlook for stocks.

— Scott Schnipper

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading.

• — Stock in the buy now, pay later company pulled back nearly 8%. Affirm issued ranging between $815 million and $845 million, with a midpoint of $830 million. That's short of the consensus estimate of $841 million, per LSEG.

• — The image sharing platform added more than 16%. Pinterest issued better-than-expected for revenue at the midpoint. Revenue in the first quarter also topped analysts' estimates, landing at $855 million compared to LSEG consensus estimates for $847 million.

• — The cryptocurrency exchange pulled back 3% on the heels of weaker-than-expected first-quarter revenue. Coinbase reported revenue of $2.03 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG were expecting $2.12 billion.

Read the full list .

— Brian Evans

Stock futures are little changed

Stock futures were little changed on Thursday, as investors hope that the U.S. will make more progress on trade following an initial framework for a deal with the United Kingdom.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 14 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.07%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.12%.

— Brian Evans