Wall Street Climbs as Trump Eases China Trade Rhetoric and Tech Stocks Surge
Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Monday after Friday’s pullback, as investors regained confidence in risk assets. The rebound came after President Donald Trump adopted a softer tone toward China, calming fears of escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Adding to the optimism, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network that Trump was expected to meet his Chinese counterpart in South Korea, a move seen as an effort to de-escalate ongoing trade disputes.
Last week, tensions had intensified when China expanded rare earth export controls, prompting Trump to announce a 100% tariff on U.S.-bound Chinese exports and new export restrictions on U.S.-made critical software. The resulting turmoil led to steep weekly declines for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, marking their worst performances in months.
However, Trump’s reassuring weekend post that “it will all be fine” and that the U.S. does not want to “hurt China” helped stabilize investor sentiment. China, while blaming the U.S. for the escalation, refrained from introducing further countermeasures, signaling a potential cooling of tensions.
Market analysts welcomed the calmer tone. Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, noted that “the combination of strong earnings, easing Middle East tensions, and progress toward a trade deal with China should help cushion the market.”
In the Middle East, progress was also reported as Hamas handed over the first group of remaining Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire deal brokered by Trump, marking a potential end to two years of conflict in Gaza.
By 10:00 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average had climbed 517.17 points (1.14%) to 45,996.77, the S&P 500 gained 99.81 points (1.52%) to 6,652.32, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 455.47 points (2.05%) to 22,659.90.
The technology sector led the rally, with the S&P 500 tech index up 2.5%. Nvidia gained 3%, and Broadcom surged 9.1% after announcing a partnership with OpenAI to develop the startup’s first in-house AI processors. This news lifted the semiconductor index by 4.4%, boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Financial stocks advanced 0.9%, supported by JPMorgan, which rose 2.5% after unveiling a $1.5 trillion strategic investment plan. Oracle jumped 5.4% following multiple price target upgrades, while Estee Lauder climbed 7.5% after a Goldman Sachs rating upgrade. On the downside, Fastenal fell 4.7% after missing its third-quarter profit estimates.
The earnings season officially begins this week, with major U.S. banks — including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo — set to release results on Tuesday. Analysts expect this reporting period to serve as a key litmus test for market strength, particularly as official economic data releases remain delayed due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, now in its 13th day.
Secretary Bessent also cautioned that the shutdown is beginning to impact the economy and U.S. farm aid.
On the NYSE, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 4.91 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, the ratio stood at 2.99 to 1. The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 52 new lows.
