Stock Futures Rally on New Tariffs Announcement
On August 6, 2025, a trader is seen working on the New York Stock Exchange floor.
Stock futures climbed on Thursday, primarily driven by technology stocks, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs and a varied set of exemptions.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 227 points, which is about 0.5%. Meanwhile, futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 recorded gains of 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.
In a move announced late Wednesday, Trump mentioned that there would be 100% tariffs on imported chips, but those businesses producing them in the US would be exempt. This shift saw pre-market stocks like Nvidia rise by over 1%, with Advanced Micro Devices seeing even stronger gains of more than 2%. Similarly, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF gained about 2% before the market opened.
Apple shares also increased by 2% after the company revealed plans to invest $100 billion into US firms and suppliers in the coming four years, further building on the $500 billion commitment made earlier in February.
“We’re going to put a huge tariff on chips and semiconductors,” Trump stated from his office on Wednesday. “But the good news for companies like Apple is that if they’re built in the US or promise to produce there, they won’t incur any charges.”
The market appears to be reacting positively to the Trump administration’s tariff policies, which officially began Thursday. On social media, Trump shared, “Billions of dollars in tariffs are currently flowing into America!”
Additionally, recent economic data provides some reassurance. Weekly unemployment claims suggest that the US economy remains robust, particularly after a shaky job report last week, which indicated weaker than anticipated growth for July.
Stocks ended on a positive note. The S&P 500 closed roughly 0.7% higher on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2%. The Dow added around 81 points, equating to about 0.2%.
So far this week, the S&P 500 has risen by 1.7%, the Nasdaq has gained 2.5%, and the Dow is up by 1.4%. Prior to the modest gains on Wednesday, the S&P endured five losing sessions out of six, with the Dow facing six declines in a week.
Kristian Kerr, head of macro strategy at LPL Financial, noted a marked decrease in market volatility since early April, amid concerns over tariffs.
“At present, the volatility across major assets is unusually low,” Kerr wrote in a memo. “Stocks are indeed moving along, and in some indexes, volatility has dropped to levels we haven’t seen since June of last year.”
