Stock futures rose early Monday as Wall Street looks to gauge President Donald Trump’s latest tariff moves.
S&P 500 futures gained 1.41%, while Nasdaq-100 futures moved 1.86% higher. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 367 points, or 0.91%.
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. The president 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 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 5% 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.
“The mid-week delay on some non-China tariffs, along with solid banks earnings and optimism about Fed intervention (should it be needed) at the end of the week helped fuel the gains in US equities, with some also attributing Wednesday’s bounce to short covering,” said Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. “For the moment, this seems to have offset the concerns that emerged about the bond market and recession worries.”
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 5.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average have fallen about 5% and 4.8%, respectively.
The market is gearing up for a major week of earnings, with results from more big banks such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup on the docket. Other key names, including streaming giant Netflix and major carrier United Airlines, are also set to report.
There’s still ‘mass uncertainty’ despite Trump tariff exemption being ‘right move,’ according to Dan Ives
While the Trump administration’s move to exempt smartphones, computers and semiconductors, among other electronic devices and components, from “reciprocal” tariffs may have been a win for Big Tech, the market could still be facing “mass uncertainty” around the president’s tariff policy, says Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.
“The White House made the right move in our view as tech leaders and the overall tech industry knew that if these tariffs went into effect it would essentially be a shut off valve for getting products to the US consumers,” Ives wrote in a note dated Sunday.
“[B]ut still there is mass uncertainty, chaos, and confusion about the next steps ahead with all focus on China tariff negotiations being front and center and any progress on this game of high stakes poker between Beijing and DC being crucial to the markets and the economy this week,” he continued.
— Sean Conlon
Trump tariff exemptions are ‘dream scenario for tech investors,’ Ives says
Daniel Ives, Wedbush Securities
Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, called the tariff exemptions “the dream scenario for tech investors.”
“Smartphones, chips being excluded is a game changer scenario when it comes to China tariffs,” Ives told CNBC on Saturday.
He said that “no sector was going to be more hurt than big tech” from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs.
“I think ultimately big tech CEOs spoke loudly, and the White House had to understand and listen to the situation that this would have been Armageddon for big tech if were implemented,” Ives said.
— Erin Doherty, Hakyung Kim
Stocks saw gains last week
Stocks are coming off a positive week despite their wild ride amid the Trump administration’s tariff developments.
- The S&P 500 gained 5.70%, its best weekly performance since Nov. 3, 2023, when it gained 5.85%, and first positive week in three.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 4.95%, its best weekly performance since Nov. 3, 2023, when it gained 5.07%.
- The Nasdaq Composite rose 7.29%, its best weekly performance since Nov. 11, 2022, when it gained 8.10%, and first positive week in three.
- The Russell 2000 advanced 1.82%, its best weekly performance since Jan. 17, 2025, when it gained 3.96%, and first positive week in three.
— Sean Conlon, Christopher Hayes
Stock futures open higher after volatile week
Stock futures opened in the green on Sunday evening.
Shortly after 6 p.m. ET, S&P 500 futures traded up 0.9%, and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced more than 1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 251 points, or 0.6%.
— Sean Conlon