Wall Street lower as tariff uncertainty weighs on stocks, dollar rises on weakness in EM currencies

The US dollar has been higher on Monday, potentially rising the most in three weeks as emerging market currencies fell over Trump's threat of additional tariffs if any nation aligns with 'Anti-American policies' of the BRICS grouping.

US market started on a weak note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.1 percent on July 7 weighed down by uncertainty around Trump's tariff and selloff in Tesla shares.

S&P 500 index declined 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq Composite was lower by 0.4% in early trade after the opening bell, after resuming trade following the July 4 holiday. Tesla shares fell nearly 6 percent at open as Elon Musk announced a new political party, adding to investors' jitters.

Trade uncertainty is once again haunting investors after US President Trump set a deadline of August 1 for the new tariff rates to come into effect. President Trump said over the weekend that he has signed letters to 12 countries, which notifies specific tariff rates they would face on exports to America. These letters would be dispatched starting 9:30pm IST to all the nations with whom US is in trade-related discussions.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to CNBC on July and talked about trade announcements over next 48 hours without specifying details of nations involved. He added that “it’s going to be a busy couple of days.”

The US dollar has been higher on Monday, potentially rising the most in three weeks as emerging market currencies fell over Trump's threat of additional tariffs if any nation aligns with 'Anti-American policies' of the BRICS grouping.

This is being updated