[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks jumped on Tuesday after President Donald Trump pushed back tariffs on Europe while US Treasury bond yields retreated following last week’s surge.
Trump on Monday said he would pause his threatened 50-per cent tariffs on the European Union until July 9 to allow for talks, reversing an escalation that upset markets on Friday.
Analysts also cited a surprisingly big improvement in US consumer confidence and a pullback in Treasury yields, with the 30-year bond falling below five per cent following reports Japan will temper its long-term bond issuance.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.8 per cent at 42,343.65.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.1 per cent to 5,921.54, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 2.5 per cent to 19,199.16.
It is “certainly a positive start to the week, reversing a lot of what transpired last week, but clearly (we’re) not out of the woods yet,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones, who described investors as being in “a headline-driven market.”
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Major US indices had declined on Friday after Trump revived his trade war posture, threatening new levies on the EU and on Apple and other smartphone companies that do not manufacture in the United States.
But with Trump’s latest shift on tariffs, “investors now understand there is a path forward that could be bullish,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.
Among individual companies, Tesla shot up 5.9 per cent after billionaire CEO Elon Musk pledged to return “24/7” to work on his commercial ventures, signalling a further retreat from politics.
On the downside, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said Tesla’s sales fell by more than 50 per cent in April compared with the year-ago period.
Trump Media and Technology Group plunged 11 per cent after announcing plans to raise US$2.5 billion in common stock and convertible senior secured notes as it creates a “bitcoin treasury.”
Salesforce rose 1.5 per cent after announcing a purchase of Informatica for US$8 billion as it seeks to boost its artificial intelligence holdings.
This week’s calendar includes key US inflation data as well as results from AI titan Nvidia.
Sarhan rated the Nvidia results a major driver of broad stock performance, saying “all eyes are on Nvidia.” AFP
