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US stock futures traded flat after a mostly upbeat day on Wall Street, driven by fresh signs President Trump is aiming to strike a trade deal with China.

Futures attached to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) fell 0.1%. Futures attached to the benchmark S&P 500 (ES=F) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NQ=F) rose 0.2%.

On Wednesday, stocks rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is considering reducing tariffs on China. The news seemed to confirm recent comments by Trump that he was optimistic about a trade deal and duties on the country would ultimately be scaled back.

The rally lost some steam, however, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied the report, saying there has been "no unilateral offer from the president to deescalate" the trade war with China.

Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs

Though Wall Street cautiously welcomed signs Trump is eager to negotiate on trade, later on Wednesday, his approach to key tariffs grew more muddled.

The Financial Times reported that the Trump administration is considering exempting automakers from the most punishing auto tariffs, yet Trump said from the Oval Office that a 25% tariff on cars imported from Canada could increase.

Finally, the White House ordered a probe into truck imports, paving the way for tariffs on the sector.

On Thursday, Wall Street's attention will shift to Alphabet earnings. While investors don't expect the company's results to be impacted by Trump's trade war yet, they'll be watching for any warning signs of how tariffs could hit the business in the near future.

Intel is also reporting earnings after-the-bell on Thursday. The results will be the company's first under the leadership of its new CEO Lip-Bu Tan.