U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday, July 7, following the Fourth of July holiday, with the S&P 500 down 0.3% amid comments on tariffs from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 100 points, or down 0.25%, while the S&P 500 shed about 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite opened lower by 0.6%.
These downward movements for stocks come as investors take note of latest tariffs-related developments. Particularly, it relates to President Donald Trump‘s threats of additional tariffs on countries aligned with BRICS. However, there’s also focus on comments by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Bessent said in an interview with CNBC that the U.S. is set to announce multiple key trade agreements in the coming days.
While Bessent did not detail the agreements, he noted that it would be “a busy couple of days,” with this coming as the July 9, 2025, tariffs deadline set by President Trump approaches.
He also noted in an interview with CNN on Sunday, July 6 that Trump’s tariffs will go into effect on August 1, 2025 – which means an extension to the July 9 deadline.
“There’s a lot of foot dragging on the other side, and so I would expect to see several big announcements over the next couple of days,” Bessent said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.
Trump threatened 10% tariff on BRICS
While investors have expected tariff implementation, fresh concerns have emerged after Trump threatened to impose an extra 10% tariff on countries aligned with BRICS—a new bloc of partner nations that includes Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
Stocks fell sharply after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs earlier in the year, before rebounding off a slow April to hit record highs in June. Gains, which also reflected across risk assets such as cryptocurrencies, came amid Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs, and agreements with the United Kingdom and China.
Despite the geopolitical tensions that rocked the Middle East, stocks remained on an upward course, with the S&P 500 near the key 6,300 level that Bank of America analysts recently said could mark a potential sell signal.