U.S. stocks surged in early trading Tuesday after President Donald Trump hinted at progress on some trade deals with key trading partners, easing fears of global trade disruption stemming from recent tariff announcements.
The S&P 500 index, as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), surged 3% by 9:45 a.m. in New York, clawing back some of the 10% it had lost over the previous four sessions.
Other major indices also showed robust gains, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 – tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:QQQ) – outperforming counterparts amid broad-based rallies in mega-cap and semiconductor stocks.
After suffering steep losses in recent sessions, investors poured back into financials, tech, and consumer discretionary, which were the top-performing sectors on Tuesday.
Semiconductors were the standout industry group, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) rallying 4.5%.
Trump Sparks Optimism With Trade Talk Blitz
The catalyst behind the rally was a lengthy post on Truth Social by Trump, in which he described a "great call" with South Korea's acting president.
The president said South Korea is sending a "top team" to the U.S. for negotiations, calling the process “one-stop shopping” for trade and military agreements.
In a CNN interview, South Korea’s acting president confirmed the country would not align with China and Japan to counter U.S. tariffs.
Seoul faces 25% tariffs under Trump's global tariff rollout. Instead, it aims to strike a bilateral agreement with the U.S. to avoid a blow to its export-driven economy.
Trump also hinted at more openness in trade negotiations with China after threatening Monday to impose a 50% tariff on top of the 54% already levied.
“China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started,” Trump wrote.
“We are waiting for their [China's] call. It will happen!” he added, suggesting renewed momentum on U.S.-China trade talks.
Senior White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett echoed the optimism, telling Fox News that the Trump administration is focusing on countries with "large trade deficits" with the U.S. He emphasized that "fair and reciprocal trade" remains the administration’s goal.
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