Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 9, 2025.
NYSE
Stocks rallied Monday as a surprise U.S. tariff exemption from President Donald Trump gave tech names a lift to start the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average popped 370 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed around 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.
Trump exempted smartphones and computers as well as other devices and components like semiconductors from his new “reciprocal” tariffs, according to new U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance issued late Friday.
Apple shares rallied more than 4% on the news, as did Intel. Dell and Super Micro Computer each jumped more than 6%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) added 2%.
However, those advances may be held in check after Trump and his Commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, then suggested Sunday that the exemptions aren’t permanent, stirring up more tariff uncertainty. Trump said in a Truth Social post that these products are still “subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.'”
“The market believes that the administration is probably in some sort of retreat from their most extreme tariff proposals.” Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “That’s incremental good news.”
The developments come as shares of the “Magnificent Seven” have come under pressure in the wake of the president’s “liberation day” tariff announcement earlier this month.
The CNBC Magnificent 7 Index has declined about 3% since then. Apple has notably been among the hardest hit names, as the iPhone maker lost nearly $640 billion in market cap in the three trading days following the announcement.
Last week marked one of the most volatile trading weeks on record for the Street. The CBOE Volatility Index spiked above 50 on Thursday, with stocks giving up some of their historic gains seen a day earlier. On Wednesday, the market soared after Trump announced a 90-day reprieve for a number of his new tariff rates, seeing its third-biggest one-day gain since World War II.
Despite last week’s rally, all three major averages are still down sharply since the so-called reciprocal tariffs were announced. The S&P 500 has dropped 4%, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average have fallen about 3.4% and 3.8%, respectively.