US Equity Indexes Fall Ahead of Close as Investors Weigh China Tariff Postponement Reports Ahead of CPI Inflation Print

04:00 PM EDT, 08/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes traded mixed after posting a gain last week, as investors weighed a key deadline for China trade tariffs, July's inflation data, and geopolitical risks.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% to 21,351.9, with the S&P 500 down 0.4% to 6,365.5 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.6% lower at 43,914.3 in the final half hour of trading Monday, giving up intraday gains earlier in the session. All three indices were up last week. Consumer discretionary led the gainers while energy and technology were among the decliners toward the close of trading.

Ahead of an Aug. 12 deadline between Washington and Beijing to affirm the Stockholm trade agreement, President Donald Trump on Monday reportedly postponed the reimposition of a heavy punitive import levy on China for an additional 90 days.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics will likely report Tuesday that the consumer price index rose 2.8% year-over-year in July from 2.7% in the previous month. The headline rate is, however, forecast to slip 0.2% month-over-month from 0.3% in June. The Core CPI prints will likely gain sequentially and year-over-year.

"The combination of a [recent] softer payroll number with concerns of tariff-related inflation could be the recipe for a correction, especially in the seasonally weak third quarter," The Star, in a Monday news report, cited a Morgan Stanley note.

The ICE US Dollar index rose 0.4% to 98.57.

The dollar strengthened ahead of scheduled talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. The meeting will take place on Friday in Alaska without Ukraine and European representation. The White House may invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Alaska, NBC reported Saturday, citing a senior US official and three informed sources.

Trump on Friday said a deal would involve "some swapping of territories," with reports suggesting that it would see Ukraine ceding Russia the parts of Donbas that it still controls, according to a note from Deutsche Bank on Monday. Zelenskiy was quick to reject the idea, and European leaders have called for any peace talks with Russia to include Kyiv.

"We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force," CNN reported, citing a Saturday joint statement from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and the European Union. European leaders are seeking to speak with Trump before he meets with Putin, as per the Deutsche Bank note.

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