Stock Futures Are Falling As Trump Resets Tariffs to Aug. 1

Stock futures were lower on Sunday ahead of the opening of trading on Monday in New York. (NYSE)

Stock market futures were falling on Sunday, ahead of Wednesday’s deadline for when President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on “reciprocal tariffs” is scheduled to expire. Trump confirmed to reporters on Sunday that tariffs will revert on Aug. 1.

His affirmative reaction to the comment from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN’s State of the Union earlier on Sunday: that tariffs will “boomerang” back to April 2 levels on Aug. 1 if countries around the world don’t reach deals with the U.S. soon.

“The playbook is to apply maximum pressure,” Bessent said. “So I think we’re going to see a lot of deals very quickly.”

Lutnick, accompanying the traveling president on Sunday, said “tariffs go into effect Aug. 1, but the president is setting the rates, and the deals, right now.” Trump signaled his agreement with those remarks.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 113 points or nearly 0.3%, while S&P 500 index futures and Nasdaq Composite futures each fell 0.3%.

Trump announced the so-called reciprocal tariffs on imports from around the world on April 2, setting levels of about 20% to 49%, but then paused those rates for 90 days. Wednesday is that self-imposed deadline, and administration officials were out talking on Sunday about getting more deals done this week. So far there have been two announced deals, with the U.K. and Vietnam.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that they’ll have most countries done by Wednesday, either through a trade deal or with a letter setting tariff rates on their products coming into the U.S.

All three major U.S. indexes ended higher last week, notching three record closing highs despite an abbreviated trading week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 2.3%, gaining 1,009 points, to 44,829. That was its highest closing value since Feb. 5, and its fourth-highest closing value this year, according to Dow Jones Market Data. It hit an intraday high of 44,885.83.

The Dow is up 5.37% so far this year.

The S&P 500 index closed up 1.7% last week, at 6279, a record close and its seventh record close this year, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The S&P 500 is up 6.76% year to date.

The Nasdaq Composite close up 1.6% last week, at 20,601, also a record close and its fourth record close this year.

The Nasdaq is up 6.68% so far this year.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com