Big tech stocks turned positive in overnight trading although traders came to grips with the fact that, even with the 90-day pause, it was just a short-term relief from trade war escalation and that longer-term recession risks were still very much real.

TSMC rose 4%; Super Micro rose 3%; Apple rose 2%; AMD, Nvidia, Meta, Palantir, and Broadcom rose more than 1%; Tesla rose 0.6%.

"Even with the 90-day postponement of the punitive tariffs we retain our call that the U.S. economy will slip into a modest recession that will look like a garden variety inventory correction that will last between 6 to 9 months. There are simply too many simultaneous shocks that are moving through the economy for it to slip the surly bonds of recessions gravity," Joseph Brusuelas, principal and chief economist at RSM US LLP, said on X (formerly Twitter).

The White House confirmed that the tariff rate against China is now actually 145%, not 125% as conveyed on Wednesday. The continued trade war escalation between the world's two biggest economies stoked concerns.

"After the third-best day since World War II, the market got a reality check, as we’re not out of the woods yet. Higher tariffs on China confirmed that the trade war is still the number one topic, with rising risks of a domestic recession, as uncertainty has already impacted supply chains. Especially the price action in cyclical energy stocks shows the mess under the hood," Leo Nelissen, part of investing group iREIT+HOYA Capital, said.

"That said, if the Trump admin refrains from hiking tariffs and we get a tailwind from bond yields (which saw strong demand during today’s auction), I think tomorrow could be a good end to a very eventful week. We’ll see," Nelissen added.

Even a downside surprise in a key inflation gauge did little to brighten the mood. Before the opening bell, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a -0.1% M/M decrease in the March consumer price index (CPI), compared to an expected figure of +0.1%. Core CPI came in at +0.1% M/M, lower than the +0.3% consensus. However, economists see the March print as the final reading before the effects of tariffs start showing up.