By Fred Imbert, CNBC–

  • Wall Street ended Tuesday’s session deep in the red on the back of comments from U.S. officials confirming higher tariffs on Chinese goods later this week.
  • President Trump tweeted about the higher tariffs last Sunday, which sparked a global sell-off.

U.S. stock index futures hovered around the flatline on Wednesday morning, as market participants continued to monitor trade relations between the U.S. and China.

At around 02:35 a.m. ET, Dow futures remain unchanged, indicating a slightly higher open of more than 40 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were marginally higher.

Wall Street ended Tuesday’s session deep in the red on the back of comments from U.S. officials confirming higher tariffs on Chinese goods later this week. President Trump tweeted about the higher tariffs last Sunday, which sparked a global sell-off.

Data released Wednesday morning in China suggested that its trade surplus in April stood at $13.84 billion, well below expectations. However, its trade surplus with the U.S. rose to $21.01 billion in April from $20.5 billion in March.

Investors are also monitoring corporate earnings.

Honda Motor, Toyota Motors, NY Times and Wendy’s will report their latest results before the bell. Dinery and Fox Corp will update markets after the bell.

There are no data releases scheduled in the U.S.