US stocks opened higher on reports President Donald Trump was planning on holding back some of the tariffs initially planned for April 2, raising hopes the U.S. won’t plunge the globe into an all-out trade war; Nasdaq jumped 1.5%; S&P 500 up 1.1%; Tesla rose 3.3%; Nvidia up 2%.
Investors remain jittery as Trump’s April 2 start date for his reciprocal tariffs approaches.
Trump has said the tariffs are aimed at any country that imposes duties on U.S. imports. But the Wall Street Journal reported the tariffs are expected to be more narrow in scope and will likely exclude some industry-specific duties, citing an administration official. Trump will also exclude some nations from the tariffs, Bloomberg News reported. Both the WSJ and Bloomberg News reports noted that the situation remains fluid and the plans could change.
Trump seemingly lowered the temperature for investors on Friday after he told reporters that there could potentially be “flexibility” for his reciprocal tariff plan, which helped push major averages into the green for the session.
“Omitting the sectoral tariffs from the April 2nd package significantly reduces both its aggregate scale and the maximum rate on targeted sectors, given that all of Trump’s tariffs to date have been designed to stack,” stated Tobin Marcus of Wolfe Research in a note. “The ceiling for reciprocal tariffs on April 2 remains dramatic, and we still expect a negative market reaction, but the scale won’t be as severe and the sectoral impacts won’t be as concentrated.”
The pending duties and Trump’s overall rhetoric on U.S. trade policy have raised fears among investors that the U.S. economy could be on shaky footing. Those concerns were exacerbated by weakening consumer sentiment data. Stocks rapidly fell starting in late February with the S&P 500, at one point, closing in correction territory.
However, investors received some encouraging words from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who last week said that any potential negative impacts from Trump’s tariffs will likely be short-lived. On the data front this week, investors will receive a consumer confidence reading on Tuesday, followed by initial weekly jobless claims figures on Thursday.
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