U.S. stock index futures fell Monday amid growing uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s plans for trade tariffs.
At 05:15 ET (09:15 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell 115 points, or 0.3%, S&P 500 Futures dropped 32 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped 145 points, or 0.6%.
The main averages were closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday, and a period of profit-taking looks likely after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record highs on Thursday.
Caution over trade negotiations
Wall Street is set to start the new week on a cautious note with the expiration of a pause to Trump’s heightened reciprocal tariffs set to end on July 9, with the trade talks having only yielded preliminary deals with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, as well as a trade truce with China.
Trump has said that the White House will shortly begin to send out letters to U.S trading partners outlining their new tariff rates, although some confusion has surrounded when the levies would come into effect, with media reports suggesting that rates may not kick in until August 1.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters on Sunday that Trump will be setting the rates and potential deals now, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier said the tariffs will be imposed as outlined in April if no trade deals were reached by August 1.
This left markets uncertain over just how high Trump’s tariffs will be, given that the president had in early-April announced tariffs going as high as 50% on major economies, while he also said over the weekend that the rates could reach 60% or 70%.
