Wall Street Declines Ahead of Tariff Deadline

U.S. stocks declined in early trading Monday as the administration increased pressure on trading partners to reach agreements before a Wednesday deadline.

The S&P 500 was 0.3% lower as trading resumed in the U.S. following a holiday-shortened week. The benchmark index remains near its all-time high set last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 96 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:54 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.

Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.37% from 4.34% late Thursday.

Tesla declined 7.9%, the largest decrease among S&P 500 stocks, as the dispute between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump continued over the weekend. Musk stated he would form a third political party in response to the Republicans’ spending bill that passed last week.

The administration planned to begin sending letters as early as Monday to inform countries that higher tariffs could be implemented on August 1. Over the weekend, President Trump and his trade advisers indicated that the tariff deadline could be extended if countries were making concessions and negotiating in good faith.

According to analysts at Nomura, the near-term outlook will likely depend on several factors, including which trading partners receive the letters, the rate of tariffs, and the effective date of such tariffs.

Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower, with technology and consumer-related stocks leading the declines.

• Oracle fell 2.5%.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill was down 2.2%.

Molina Healthcare declined 6% after the insurer lowered its profit guidance due to increasing costs. UnitedHealth Group also recently reported higher costs, which led to a reduced forecast and a decline in its stock in April.

The start to the week follows a period of gains for stocks, which reached record levels last week after a U.S. jobs report exceeded expectations.

Oil prices fluctuated after OPEC+ agreed on Saturday to increase production in August by 548,000 barrels per day.

• U.S. benchmark crude was up 0.5%.
• Brent crude, the international standard, was up 1%.

Stock indexes in Europe were mostly higher. Asian markets closed mostly lower.