U.S. Stock Futures are sharply lower ahead of the Wall Street open and are extending last week’s losses. It’s ‘Risk-Off’ to start the week with equities selling off, treasuries rallying, and gold hitting record highs as tariff concerns have investors searching out safety. President Trump’s reciprocal tariff push is set to begin on April 2, which has traders uncertain about the outcome amid expectations of negotiations that may get dragged out.

The uncertainty has the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) hitting the 24 level, which is reflective of the rising caution in markets. With little economic data today, traders will continue to focus on the tariff headlines along with employment data throughout the week culminating in the nonfarm payrolls number on Friday.

• Oil (/CL) – Oil prices are slightly higher near $69.50 a barrel despite a warning by U.S. President Donald Trump that he may impose secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil if he feels Moscow is blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

• Gold (/GC) – Gold prices are up 1% near $3,150 and hit a new record high, as concerns around U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the potential economic fallout, combined with geopolitical worries, drove a fresh wave of investments into the safe-haven asset.

• Bitcoin (/BTC) – The cryptocurrency is down over 2%, around $82K.

• VIX – The CBOE Volatility Index rose 15.8% on Friday and settled at 21.65 as stocks sold off. The VIX is up another 12% in the premarket on the weakness in stocks.

• U.S. Dollar (/DX) – The dollar is flat around 103.7.

• Morgan Stanley upgrades KLA Corp. (KLAC) to Overweight from Equal Weight

• HSBC upgrades PNC Financial (PNC) to Buy from Hold

• Jefferies upgrades Wingstop (WING) to Buy from Hold

• Stephens downgrades Comerica (CMA) to Equal Weight from Overweight

• BMO Capital downgrades U.S. Steel (X) to Market Perform from Outperform

• Barclays downgrades Canada Goose (GOOS) to Underweight from Equal Weight

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