US stocks registered a decline on August 1, 2025, as investors remained wary ahead of the impending deadline for tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 330.3 points, or 0.74 percent, closing at 44,130.98. The S&P 500 dropped 23.51 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 6,339.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index experienced a minor loss of 7.23 points, or 0.03 percent, ending at 21,122.45.

In a broader perspective, nine of the 11 primary sectors within the S&P 500 concluded the day in negative territory. The health and real estate sectors were particularly affected, declining by 2.79 percent and 1.73 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the communication services and utilities sectors managed to post gains of 2.08 percent and 0.59 percent.

Stocks pulled back from earlier gains in the afternoon session as President Trump confirmed that the tariffs would come into effect the following day, coinciding with the introduction of new trade agreements. He also indicated a 90-day extension of existing tariff rates with Mexico.

Compounding these concerns, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve as its preferred measure of inflation, indicated a rise in price growth for June, which keeps inflation above the central bank's target of two percent. This data was released just a day after the Fed opted to maintain current interest rates, although two members of the committee voiced dissent.

These economic developments overshadowed what would have been a positive earnings season for the technology sector. Meta Platforms saw its shares skyrocket by more than 11 percent on Thursday, supported by better-than-expected earnings results and optimistic future guidance, in spite of substantial investment in artificial intelligence.

In terms of other major tech companies, Amazon saw a gain of 1.7 percent as it prepared to release its earnings report post-market hours. In contrast, Apple shares dipped by 0.71 percent. Performance among other tech giants was varied: Broadcom and Tesla each fell by approximately three percent, while Alphabet's stock dipped by 2.32 percent and Nvidia experienced a slip of 0.78 percent.