Recent record highs feel like a fleeting memory for tech stocks, which are struggling to start a new month.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slid as much as 1.9% on Tuesday, the first trading day of September. Losses were particularly steep for index heavy hitters Nvidia and Amazon, which both shed about 2%.

Here’s where US indexes stood at 11 a.m. on Tuesday:

While September has historically been a weak month for the overall market, investors were grappling with three other major factors on Tuesday.

(1) The tariff roller coaster isn’t slowing down

For months, the constant threat of President Donald Trump’s tit-for-tat tariff policies has cast uncertainty over markets. With key trade relationships under strain, investors have been forced to watch and wait as Trump has pushed back deadlines, prolonging economic anxiety.

Now even more questions have risen, following an August 29 ruling from a Federal court of appeals that found many of the tariffs to be illegal. As Business Insider reports, “a 7-4 ruling from the appeals court ruled that Trump overstepped his executive power to rewrite trade policy.”

The Trump administration has made it clear that it intends to fight the ruling but many questions remain, particularly as the tariffs are still in place. The US Supreme Court will likely decide if they can hold but until a final verdict is reached, investors will be faced with the type of uncertainty that Wall Street despises, likely compromising many sectors.

(2) Continued concerns about Fed independence

After weeks of speculation, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted that interest rate cuts may be coming in his Jackson Hole address.

Powell’s language sparked a stock-market rally, as it signaled that the change investors have been looking for could finally be coming. However, since then, Trump’s attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook from her position has sparked more uncertainty that future interest rate cuts could be compromised.

New questions about the Fed’s path after September, as well as its independence from the federal government have given rise to more uncertainty, as investors wonder if the victory dance after Powell’s August address may have been premature.

(3) Treasury yields are spiking

Many high-growth stocks may be struggling right now but treasury yields are rising steadily, with the 30-year Treasury yield at nearly 5% after rising as many as 7 basis points on Tuesday.

“Treasury yields are higher and rising on the return from the three-day holiday week, led by the intermediate sector of the curve,” John Canavan, analyst at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note.

With the US faced with the prospect of having to refund some tariff money, both the 2- and 10- year treasury yields have climbed alongside the 30-year yield charted above.

Rising bond yields can negatively impact the growth for stock valuations, particularly for high-growth companies such as the tech leaders that are falling today.