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U.S. stock index futures rose sharply Monday evening following a volatile trading session driven by tariff rumors and policy uncertainty. As of 20:02 ET (00:02 GMT), S&P 500 Futures climbed 1.1% to 5,151.50, Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 1.2% to 17,763.0, and Dow Jones Futures advanced 1.3% to 38,650.0.
Markets saw wild swings during regular hours as unconfirmed reports suggested President Donald Trump might consider a 90-day tariff pause for all countries except China. This triggered a temporary rally, reversing early losses. However, the White House swiftly denied the rumor, sending markets back down. Later, Trump threatened an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods if Beijing fails to withdraw its new 34% tariffs on U.S. products by April 8, 2025, deepening investor concerns.
By the close, the Dow dropped 349 points or 0.9%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq edged up 0.1%. Despite overall market pressure, tech stocks rebounded, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumping 3.5% and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) rising 5.4%. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Meta (NASDAQ:META) also recovered, though Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 3.7% and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) slid 2.6%.
President Trump reiterated his stance on reciprocal tariffs, downplaying the idea of a policy pause. However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled potential openness to global negotiations, as 50 countries reportedly reached out to the U.S. for talks, according to Reuters.
Investor attention remains focused on trade developments and the possibility of tariff relief. Market volatility is likely to persist amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and policy shifts.
