US stock futures fell as President Trump threatened stiff tariffs on imports from more than a dozen countries and delayed the return of sweeping April levies.

The Dow held up slightly better than the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite, after the latter two closed at record highs Thursday. Blue chips on the Dow pulled back 0.5% in recent action. The 30-stock index sits just below the 45,000 level after three rising weeks and was nearing its record high.

Equities struggled Monday as countries fought to hammer out trade deals days before Donald Trump's tariff deadline, with the US president saying he would begin sending letters to some capitals