Wall Street closed higher on Monday, pulled down by tech and energy stocks. U.S.-based steelmakers also lifted the markets based on President Trump’s tariff imposition on international steel imports. All three most widely followed indexes closed the session in the green.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) added 0.4%, or 167.01 points, to close at 44,470.41. Eighteen components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 12 ended in negative.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 190.87 points, or 1%, to close at 19,714.27.

The S&P 500 gained 40.45 points, or 0.7%, to close at 6,066.44. Nine of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the green. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) jumped 2.2%, 1.5% and 1.1%, respectively, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) retracted 0.8%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 4.4% to 15.81. A total of 16.1 billion shares were traded on Monday, higher than the last 20-session average of 14.9 billion. Advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the S&P 500.

Trump’s Steel Tariffs Drive the Markets

On Monday, President Trump announced that the United States will introduce a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the country on top of existing metals duties. The President spoke to reporters on Air Force One and said that these tariffs will be announced on Monday. Trump also announced reciprocal tariffs to take effect on Tuesday or Wednesday, on countries that currently charge the United States in a bid to match the tariff rates levied by them.

Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Vietnam are the largest steel suppliers to the country. Canada is also the largest supplier of primary aluminum metal to the United States. In his first term, President Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum but later granted several trading partners duty-free exemptions, including Canada, Mexico and Brazil. It remains to be seen whether these tariff announcements are actual tariff impositions or strongman moves to extract better deals.

As a result, U.S-based steel and aluminum companies made gains in the session. Consequently, shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD and Alcoa Corporation AA gained 4.9% and 2.2%, respectively. Alcoa currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Oil Prices Rebound Despite Trump’s Tariff Play

On Monday, global oil prices rebounded despite apprehension over a multinational trade war based on President Donald Trump's tariff imposition announcements. Brent crude was up 87 cents, or 1.2%, at $75.53/barrel. WTI crude added 1.3%, rising 90 cents to $71.90. As a result, energy became the biggest winning sector in the session.

No economic data was released on Monday.

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