#USChinaTradeTalks The trade talks between the U.S. and China are driving the markets, but investors are really waiting for Fed Chair Powell to speak

The trade talks between the U.S. and China are driving the markets, but investors are really waiting for Fed Chair Powell to speak

BY Ian Mount

May 7, 2025, at 7:02 AM EDT

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walks to his seat before his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, on May 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent walks to his seat before his testimony before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, on May 6, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Tom Brenner—The Washington Post via Getty Images

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% yesterday, bringing it to a 4.7% decline so far this year, while S&P futures rose 0.6% this morning in pre-market trading. The U.S. government said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would travel to Switzerland to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Beijing's chief economic representative. Investors found hope in the prospect of negotiations between the two largest economic powers in the world, but their eyes were fixed on Fed Chair Jerome Powell.