Wall Street Gains on Trade War Developments

U.S. stocks on Wall Street experienced a consistent rise on Monday, buoyed by news of a significant easing of trade tensions between the U.S. and China that had previously unsettled global markets.

The main index showed moderate movement throughout the day, reacting positively to comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, who advocated for a “full reset” of U.S.-China relations, including significant tax reductions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day at 42,410.10, marking a 2.8% increase. Meanwhile, the broadly based S&P 500 climbed to 5,844.19, up by 3.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose to 18,708.34, up 4.4%.

“The market is clearly looking at the overall trend towards a de-escalation,” noted Karl Haeling from LBBW.

Since President Trump returned to office, he had enforced a 145% tariff on numerous Chinese imports, while China retaliated with 125% duties on U.S. goods. After discussions with Swiss officials over the weekend, the U.S. agreed to temporarily reduce tariffs on Chinese products to 30%, with China opting for a 10% reduction.

A commentary from Briefing.com highlighted that the recent U.S. announcements, coupled with last week’s agreements, “should assure business leaders that a final deal is conceivable.” This could facilitate their investment and spending decisions, according to the note.

Nevertheless, Haeling pointed out that both the U.K.’s agreement and China’s recent declarations on Monday left “many details unresolved,” indicating that some uncertainty persists.

Market participants are also keenly awaiting the U.S. Consumer Price Index data for April, set to be released on Tuesday, as it will provide insights into pricing pressures stemming from tariffs.