The US markets ended mostly in red as the major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, with only Nasdaq managing to hold its ground. The lingering uncertainty about President Donald Trump's trade policies kept the risk appetite subdued. Trump had signed an executive order officially extending the suspension of reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trade partners. But later he indicated that no extensions will be granted for new tariff deadline. Besides, traders remained cautious ahead of the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. The Fed minutes may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the central bank's next meeting on July 29, 2025 - July 30, 2025.

On the sectoral front, significant strength has been seen in oil stocks with Philadelphia Oil Service Index surging 5.3 percent and NYSE Arca Oil Index gaining 3.4 percent. Further, biotechnology and steel stocks also saw notable strength, while gold stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 165.60 points or 0.37 percent to 44,240.76 and S&P 500 edged down 4.46 points or 0.07 percent to 6,225.52, while Nasdaq inched up 5.95 points or 0.03 percent to 20,418.46.