02:30 PM EDT, 07/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity benchmarks fell intraday after President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.1% at 44,336.2 after midday Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9% to 20,421.5. The S&P 500 lost 0.8% to 6,227.2. Among sectors, consumer discretionary led the decliners, while utilities and consumer staples were the only gainers.

Trump disclosed his July 7 letters to Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and South Korea President Lee Jae-myung via Truth Social posts, saying the duties take effect Aug. 1. These tariffs will be in addition to sectoral levies, he said.

"Please understand that the 25% number is far less than what is needed to eliminate the trade deficit disparity we have with your country," Trump told the two leaders in separate letters.

Trump told the leaders of Japan and South Korea that any retaliatory increases in tariffs on US products will results in similar hikes to the 25% rate charged by Washington.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN on Sunday that starting Aug. 1, tariffs for countries without trade deals will return to levels announced at the beginning of April.

On Sunday, Trump warned that any country aligning itself with the policies of BRICS, an intergovernmental organization including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, will be subject to additional tariffs of 10%.

Leaders of the bloc, at a summit in Brazil, recently said in a statement that rising tariffs pose a threat to global trade, Reuters reported.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate rising 4.2 basis points to 4.39% and the two-year rate adding 0.7 basis point to 3.90%.

In company news, Tesla (TSLA) shares were down 7.4% after midday trading, the worst S&P 500 performer. Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that he is launching a new US political party, a move that Wedbush Securities said could raise investor concerns about its potential impact on the electric vehicle maker.

Shares of Core Scientific ( CORZ ) tumbled 17% intraday after the data center infrastructure provider agreed to be acquired by artificial intelligence hyperscaler CoreWeave ( CRWV ) in a roughly $9 billion all-stock deal. CoreWeave ( CRWV ) shares fell 3.2%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.7% at $67.48 a barrel intraday. "A tight physical market lent support to oil prices," D.A. Davidson said in a note.

Over the weekend, eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to increase their crude oil production by 548,000 barrels per day for August, more than the expected 411,000 increase.

Gold was little changed at $3,343.7 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.4% to $36.95 per ounce.