US stock futures fell on Monday, as investors turned the page on a bullish May and eyed the month ahead with trade uncertainty lingering.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F) were down 0.4%, with futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) dropped 0.5%. Contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) slipped 0.6%.
The tepid start to June follows a standout May: The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rallied more than 6% in its best month since November 2023 and best May since 1990. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) soared 9%, and the Dow (^DJI) notched a 4% gain. Tech stocks led the charge, as investor optimism around AI and resilient economic data fueled risk appetite.
President Trump’s tariff policy remains a focus for Wall Street. Last week, a federal court struck down significant portions of his duties, including sky-high levies on Chinese imports, only for a higher court to temporarily reverse that decision a day later, reinstating the duties while legal proceedings continue. Tensions with China also ratcheted up on Friday, with Trump claiming the country had “totally violated its agreement” with the US.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s role leading DOGE has come to an end as he returns to working at his other companies, most notably Tesla (TSLA), which has been a boon for the stock. Musk’s attempts at drastically reshaping the American government through mass layoffs and cuts started with huge impact before fizzling well short of his $2 trillion target.
Against this backdrop, all eyes now turn to a critical slate of economic data this week — most notably the May nonfarm payrolls report due Friday, which will offer fresh clues on how trade frictions and interest rate expectations are shaping the broader US economy.
Earnings season is almost wrapped, with results from CrowdStrike (CRWD), Broadcom (AVGO), DocuSign (DOCU), and Lululemon (LULU) the main points of interest in a smaller week of reports.
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