• Stocks are coming off a winning week.
  • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump’s tariffs will go into effect Aug. 1, not July 9.
  • Shares of Tesla fell nearly 7% before the bell after CEO Elon Musk said he formed a new political party.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Tariff talk

Stock futures were lower Monday morning as investors digested President Donald Trump’s latest comments on tariffs. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23 points, or 0.05%, while S&P 500 futures dropped 0.30% and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.45%. Stocks are coming off a winning week: All three major averages closed the shortened trading week in positive territory, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite setting new record highs on Thursday. Follow live market updates.

2. Pause for effect

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that Trump’s tariffs will go into effect Aug. 1, not July 9 as investors expected. The president in April announced a 90-day pause on his so-called reciprocal tariffs, which was set to end this week. But Lutnick, accompanied by a nodding Trump, told reporters that “tariffs go into effect Aug. 1,” adding that “the president is setting the rates, and the deals, right now.” Early on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that countries without trade deals with the U.S. could see their tariff rate “boomerang” back to the steep levels announced on April 2. Trump also threatened an additional 10% tariff on any country “aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS” in an evening Truth Social post.

3. Texas floods

Officials comb through the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas.

Julio Cortez | AP Photo

Officials comb through the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area on Saturday, July 5, 2025, in Hunt, Texas.

At least 82 people have died after flash floods in central Texas on Friday washed away homes and devastated a summer camp. Gov. Greg Abbott said on Sunday that there were still 41 people unaccounted for. Ten girls and one counselor remain missing from Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. The river surged between 20 and 26 feet before dawn on Friday, engulfing an area known as “flash flood alley.” Trump on Sunday signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County. Crews continued to search for the missing as heavy rain through Tuesday threatened more flooding in central Texas.

4. Party crasher

Elon Musk applaudes in the Oval Office as he attends a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.

Nathan Howard | Reuters

Elon Musk applaudes in the Oval Office as he attends a press event with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025.

Shares of EV maker Tesla were down nearly 7% before the bell Monday after CEO Elon Musk said he formed a new political party. Musk — who was the largest donor in the 2024 presidential campaign and a close ally of Trump’s until their recent fallout — said in a post on X that the party would be called the “America Party.” He did not say where the party would be registered, and it did not appear to be registered with the Federal Election Committee. Trump responded to the news on Sunday with a Truth Social post, in which the president said Musk has gone “completely ‘off the rails.'”

5. Winning recipe

Customers take out food from a Cava restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, on May 28, 2024.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

Customers take out food from a Cava restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, on May 28, 2024.

Consumers may be pulling back on spending, but fast-casual chains have found at least one way to keep diners coming back: rewards programs. From Chipotle and Starbucks to Cava and Sweetgreen, restaurant brands are using loyalty programs to drive sales. More than 59% of Starbucks’ U.S. company-owned transactions in the second quarter came from members of its rewards program, according to the coffee giant. Chipotle meanwhile said that, on average, its loyalty members make up about 30% of sales each day. Fast-casual chains are also getting more creative with their loyalty options, offering customers more flexibility in how they redeem rewards. It’s paying off: After Potbelly revamped its rewards program in early 2024, it “saw a lift almost immediately in terms of engagement,” the chain’s chief marketing officer David Daniels said. “The response has been incredibly positive.”

— CNBC’s Sarah Min, Erin Doherty, Anniek Bao, Arjun Kharpal and Krysta Escobar, as well as the Associated Press and NBC News contributed to this report.