US stock futures fell sharply Monday as investors prepared for another week of developments on President Trump’s fast-moving tariff policies and for the kickoff of Big Tech earnings reports, with Fed independence also looming as an emerging risk.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 (ES=F) were down 1.4%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq (NQ=F) sank 1.8%, leading the way down. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) dropped 1.2%, over 400 points.
As of 7:51:06 AM EDT. Market Open.
ES=F YM=F NQ=F
As Yahoo Finance’s Josh Schafer wrote in our preview of the week ahead, the stock market remains largely at the mercy of Trump’s tariffs. Different headlines and shifts in narratives have driven big market swings over the past several weeks, from Trump’s “Liberation Day” to the subsequent walk back to a seemingly ever-escalating battle with China. All three indexes are down over 5% since Trump’s April 2 tariff event at the White House.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Investors are also grappling with another emerging concern: Trump’s bluster around removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, with whom Trump is unhappy for allegedly keeping interest rates too high. Trump’s new focus on Powell comes after the Fed chief delivered a stark warning on the potential effects of tariffs to the economy.
Meanwhile, earnings season continues, with this week looming as pivotal. So far, a smaller percentage of companies are beating analyst expectations — and those who are outrunning the estimates are doing so by smaller margins than usual.
Two of the “Magnificent 7” take the spotlight of some 120 S&P 500 companies reporting this week: Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL). Both stocks are emblematic of this year’s shift away from the high-flying tech trade of recent years. Alphabet stock is down nearly 20% so far in 2025, while Tesla has lost a whopping 40%.
Tesla shares lost almost 4% in premarket trading Monday, and Mag 7 peer Nvidia (NVDA) continued a recent slide, down 3% as China looks to domestic alternatives amid new US curbs on its chip sales.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) surged to its highest level since Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements on Monday. Gold (GC=F) also reached another record, crossing the $3,400 level for the first time.
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