U.S. stock futures slid on Monday as anxiety over tariffs and criticism of the Federal Reserve by President Donald Trump shook investor confidence, pushing the dollar sharply lower and catapulting safe-haven gold to a record high.

Big Tech stocks mostly fell in premarket trading. Tesla down 2.3%; Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom down 1.5%; Apple, Alphabet down 1%. Netflix up 3% after earnings beat.

"Markets are already on edge due to escalating geopolitical tensions, and now concerns are rising that Trump's potential interference with the Fed could add another layer of uncertainty," said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo in Singapore.

"Any signs of political pressure on monetary policy could undermine the Fed’s independence and complicate the path ahead for interest rates just as investors are looking for stability amid global volatility."

Trump's tariffs have roiled financial markets and triggered a selloff in Treasuries and the dollar in April that stoked doubt in the long-held belief in the safe-haven status of U.S. assets.

The drop in confidence in U.S. assets has been exacerbated by Trump's attacks on the Fed and Powell through last week.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Sunday that he hopes the United States is not moving to an environment where the ability of the central bank to set monetary policy independent of political pressure is questioned.

The Fed's credibility as the world's most powerful central bank rests largely on its historic independence to act free from political influence.