Stocks Soar in Early Trading as Market Rebounds From Tariff-Fueled Sell-Off; Dow Jumps 1,200 Points

Stocks moved sharply higher Tuesday morning as volatile trading continues amid investor hopes that the Trump administration could reach deals with other countries on tariffs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3.3%, a gain of more than 1,200 points, about half an hour after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 3.5% and 3.8%, respectively. The Dow and the S&P finished lower on Monday, while the tech heavy Nasdaq Composite inched higher in a wild trading session during which the major indexes swung between huge losses and big gains only to finish relatively unchanged.

U.S. stocks had their worst week in five years last week as investors reacted to President Trump’s plans to impose sweeping tariffs on almost every country, with some major trading partners, including China, Japan and the European Union subject to particularly high levies. The so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, which are due to go into effect tomorrow, are designed to restore competitive balance and bring manufacturing and jobs back to the U.S., though economists and investors worry that the import taxes could spark inflation and cause economic growth to stall.

Investors have been keeping close tabs on comments about the tariffs from Trump and other White House officials, who have given no indication that they’ll back off from their plans but are negotiating with Japan, South Korea and several other key trade partners. Market participants also are waiting to see how other countries respond to the tariffs, after China on Friday countered with retaliatory tariffs on imports from the U,S.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell sharply last week as fears of a possible recession intensified, was at 4.23% this morning, up from 4.16% at yesterday’s close. The yield, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, had fallen as low as 3.87% on Monday, near its lowest levels since October.

Mega-cap technology stocks were up across the board in early trading, led by chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO), which gained 7% and 8%, respectively. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet  (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) were also showing solid gains.

Among other noteworthy tech sector gainers, adtech company Applovin (APP) surged 10% to lead Nasdaq gainers, while data analytics software company Palantir (PLTR) and chipmaker Marvell Technology (MRVL) both jumped more than 8%.

Bank stocks, which have been hit hard amid concerns about a possible recession, were also recovering this morning. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) were each up about 5%, while Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) both tacked on about 4%.

Health insurer stocks were on the rise after the federal government announced late yesterday that it would pay Medicare insurers more next year than previously expected. Humana (HUM) was recently up 13%, leading S&P gainers, while CVS Health (CVS) rose 9%. Elevance Health (ELV) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH) gained 6% and 8%, respectively.

Gold futures were up 1.9% at $3,030 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 1.2% to $61.40 per barrel, after hitting a four-year low yesterday.

Bitcoin was trading at $79,600, up from an overnight low of $78,100. The digital currency slipped as low as $74,500 on Monday.