Stocks rose in a choppy session on Monday, helped by a rally in tech names following a surprise U.S. tariff exemption from President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 312.08 points, or 0.78%, to close at 40,524.79. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.64% to end at 16,831.48, while the S&P 500 added 0.79% and settled at 5,405.97. All three indexes at times traded in negative territory during the turbulent session.
Investors cheered Trump’s exemption of smartphones and computers, as well as other devices and components such as semiconductors, from his new “reciprocal” tariffs, according to new U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance issued late Friday.
But Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick then suggested Sunday that the exemptions are not 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.'”
Still, Apple shares gained 2.2% on the news, while Dell jumped nearly 4%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) added nearly 1%.
“The market believes that the administration is probably in some sort of retreat from their most-extreme tariff proposal,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “That’s incremental good news.”
The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, tumbled more than 6 points in Monday’s session. U.S. Treasury yields also retreated, providing upward momentum for stocks.
These developments come as the “Magnificent Seven” and broader market have come under pressure in the wake of the president’s tariff announcement earlier this month.
Last week marked one of the most tumultuous trading weeks on record for the Street, with the CBOE Volatility Index spiking above 50. Stocks soared on Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day reprieve for several of his new tariff rates, resulting in the S&P 500’s third-biggest one-day gain since World War II.
While stocks advanced last week, all three major averages are still down sharply since the so-called reciprocal tariffs were first announced on April 2. The S&P 500 has dropped 4.7%, while the Nasdaq and Dow have fallen about 4.4% and 4%, respectively.
“The question a lot of investors are asking is, ‘Is this it – is the bottom in?'” said Dave Sekera, chief U.S. market strategist at Morningstar. “It’s certainly possible, but I don’t think so.”
Stocks finish higher
Stocks closed Monday’s rocky session in the green.
The Dow climbed more than 300 points, or about 0.8%. The S&P 500 also popped around 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%.
— Alex Harring
Outlook is ‘positive’ for stocks despite recent volatility, UBS says
Meaningful gains may be in store for the market over the coming months, according to David Lefkowitz, UBS’ head of U.S. equities.
“Equity volatility is likely to remain elevated in the coming weeks as markets assess the latest tariff news and the implications for growth, inflation, and monetary policy,” Lefkowitz wrote in a Monday note. “But we believe the outlook is positive for US stocks, supported by likely tariff moderation, Federal Reserve rate cuts, and structural growth themes.”
Lefkowitz forecasts the S&P 500 will reach 5,800 by the end of 2025. That implies more than 8% upside from Friday’s close.
— Sean Conlon
Oil prices steady as OPEC cuts demand outlook on tariffs
Oil prices closed little changed, as OPEC lowered its demand growth forecast for this year due to Trump’s tariffs.
U.S. crude oil rose 3 cents to close at $61.52 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent gained 12 cents to settle at $64.88 per barrel.
OPEC now sees demand for crude growing by 1.3 million barrels per day this year and next year, down about 150,000 barrels per day from its previous estimates, according to the cartel’s monthly report.
Traders are worried about growing supply at the same time demand is expected to soften. OPEC+ has agreed to accelerate production starting in May.
“It’s a double whammy for the oil market right now,” said Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets.
U.S. crude prices are down more than 14% and Brent has fallen more than 13% since Trump unveiled his tariffs on April 2.
— Spencer Kimball
Markets are pricing in a slowdown, says Sanctuary Wealth
Although stocks aren’t currently trading at recessionary levels, the markets are pricing in a slowdown in the economy and corporate profits, according to Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment strategist at Sanctuary Wealth.
Bartels forecasts another low for the S&P 500 at the 4,835 level.
“I think this is going to be more of a traditional bob and weave and a base building, and that we’re going to have to go back down and test those lows,” Bartels told CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Monday.
“I would brace for continued volatility and moves that we’re not traditionally used to,” she added. “I think the viciousness will slow down. But when you test it low, it can be very violent.”
— Hakyung Kim
Citi is latest to cut its S&P 500 target
Citi strategist Scott Chronert lowered his year-end target for the broad market index to 5,800, on a weaker earnings growth forecast as tariffs cloud the global equity and macroeconomic outlook. Citi now anticipates S&P 500 earnings of $255, down from $270.
“Both tariff assumptions and recent signs of macro slowing trigger the downward revision from a previous $270 projection. Some valuation compression is also warranted as a function of policy uncertainty,” he wrote.
— Sarah Min
Consumer staples stocks erase April losses
April’s showers have cleared up for consumer staple stocks.
The S&P 500 sector climbed nearly 2% on Monday, bringing its month-to-date advance to around 1%. It is the only sector of the 11 that comprise the broad index poised for gains on the month.
Kenvue led the sector up in Monday’s session with a jump of more than 3%. Dollar Tree followed, rising 2.7%.
— Alex Harring
Fed’s Waller sees tariff inflation impact as ‘transitory’
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller speaks during The Clearing House Annual Conference in New York City on Nov. 12, 2024.
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Monday that inflation from Trump’s tariffs likely will be “transitory,” and indicated that interest rate reductions are still on the table.
In a speech delivered in St. Louis, the central bank official broke down tariffs into two scenarios, one in which they are higher and longer lasting and the other whether they are negotiated lower. In either case, Waller said rate cuts are likely to boost growth under the higher-tariff scenario or as “good news” reductions under the reduced level.
“I can hear the howls already that this must be a mistake given what happened in 2021 and 2022. But just because it didn’t work out once does not mean you should never think that way again,” Waller said of the “transitory” call.
— Jeff Cox
‘Magnificent 7’ will recover postearnings season, analyst says
The “Magnificent Seven” will likely find more of a reprieve after earnings season wraps up, according to Canaccord Genuity.
Despite the temporary pause in retaliatory tariffs for electronics, analyst Michael Graham expects the companies will still issue cautious commentary and guidance.
“Some of these companies remain key targets of potential regulatory retaliation, and 3) the companies all reported Q4 before tariff rhetoric became very loud, so even though the trade picture is a lot better than it was a week ago, it is still a lot worse than it was at the time we last heard from these management teams about the business outlook,” Graham wrote in a note Monday.
“Given the dramatic underperformance of Mag7 so far this year, we are eyeing these stocks for a reversion, but suggest risk becomes much lower after Q1earnings reports,” Graham added.
— Hakyung Kim
Auto stocks rise after Trump says he may ‘help’ car companies on tariffs
Auto stocks rose after Trump said he was considering some tariff policy changes to benefit car manufacturers.
“I’m looking at something to help some of the car companies. … They need a little bit of time because they’re going to make [parts] here, but they need a little bit of time,” Trump said.
Shares of Ford and General Motors each rose more than 3%, while Stellantis gained about 2.8%.
— Jesse Pound
Chinese internet ETF rises more than 4%
The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB) climbed 4.2% Monday, on pace for third positive day in four. The gains were led by East Buy Holding, Qifu Technology, PDD, Full Truck Alliance, Alibaba and NetEase Cloud Music, which were all up about 6% or greater so far.
— Yun Li, Gina Francolla
Apple, Alibaba, Palantir among the names making moves midday
Check out the stocks making moves in midday trading:
- Apple — The stock added more than 2% as sentiment on tech shares broadly rose Monday. President Trump announced on Friday that several electronic devices and components will be exempt from U.S. tariffs. The policy benefits Apple given that the majority of the iPhone maker’s products are manufactured in China. Several Wall Street analysts were relieved following the exemption, but said Apple still faces growth concerns amid a weaker macroeconomic environment.
- China tech stocks — U.S. shares of Chinese tech firms gained on the heels of the Trump administration’s move to exempt smartphones, computers and semiconductors from “reciprocal” tariffs. Shares of e-commerce giants Alibaba and PDD each advanced more than 5%, while others such as JD.com and Baidu rose more than 4% and 3%, respectively.
- Palantir Technologies — The software stock climbed 4% after NATO announced it had finalized its acquisition of Palantir’s Maven Smart System, an artificial intelligence-enabled warfighting system. NATO expects to use the system within its Allied Command Operations within the next 30 days.
Read the full list here.
— Sean Conlon
Apple market cap rises back above $3 trillion
The glass building on Broadway in New York City is the Apple Store where customers can interact and purchase Apple products, speak with experts, receive technical support at the Genius Bar and participate in workshops and events.
Apple‘s recent rally put the stock’s market cap back above $3 trillion.
The tech stock last recorded a market cap above $3.1 trillion. Apple was the first U.S. company to reach that level in 2022.
Shares last rose nearly 2% in Monday trading, building on Friday’s gain of around 4%.
— Alex Harring
Argentina ETF surges, building on Friday rally
The Global X MSCI Argentina ETF (ARGT) rose sharply in midday trading and was on track for its second straight session with an advance of more than 6%.
The rally is likely being spurred in part by the International Monetary Fund’s announcement on Friday of a $20 billion funding program for the country. Argentina’s economy minister also said the country will lift most foreign exchange controls, according to Bloomberg. The Argentine peso fell sharply against the U.S. dollar on Monday.
Even with the two-day jump, the ARGT is still trading below where it closed on March 27.
— Jesse Pound, Adrian van Hauwermeiren
Rumor Hassett: Trump aide teases ‘amazing’ tariff deal offers, predicts no 2025 recession
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said “more than 10” countries have put forward “amazing” trade deal offers as they seek to avoid Trump’s steep tariffs.
Hassett also asserted in a Fox Business interview that there will “100% not” be a recession in the U.S. in 2025.
He denied Democrats’ growing questions about possible insider trading at the White House before Trump announced a monthslong pause in so-called reciprocal tariffs.
— Kevin Breuninger
Employment outlook hits the worst since Covid-19 pandemic, Fed survey shows
A “Now Hiring” sign at a job and resource fair hosted by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce in partnership with NCWorks in Fletcher, North Carolina, on April 9, 2025.
Expectations for the labor market declined to their lowest point since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a New York Federal Reserve consumer survey released Monday.
Respondents see a 44% mean probability that the unemployment rate will be up a year from now, the worst outlook since April 2020, the survey showed.
That came amid heightened expectations for near-term inflation and the worst outlook for the stock market since June 2022.
— Jeff Cox
Weekend tariff developments were ‘unequivocally positive for stocks,’ Tom Lee says
The lower tariffs on electronic goods from China, at least temporarily, are a positive for the stock market even with the confusion over the weekend, according to Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee.
“Everything that happened over the weekend, including the Sunday further explanations, all of this is still unequivocally positive for stocks,” Lee said Monday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Watch Lee’s full interview on CNBC Pro.
— Jesse Pound
Crypto funds, led by bitcoin ETFs, log third week in a row of outflows
Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration taken Nov. 25, 2024.
Crypto investment funds saw their third week in a row of outflows as the tariff tumult continued to weigh on sentiment in crypto.
Outflows for last week totaled $795 million, nearly wiping out year-to-date inflows, which now stand at $165 million, according to CoinShares.
CoinShares’ James Butterfill noted that the late-week price rebound helped lift total assets under management from their lowest point on April 8 — also their lowest since November — to $130 billion. That marks an 8% increase from Trump’s “temporary reversal of the economically calamitous tariffs,” he said.
Bitcoin funds, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s GBTC, accounted for most of the outflows at $751 million for the week, followed by $38 million in outflows of ether funds. However, as some pointed out in highlighting bitcoin’s resilience through the tariff-driven market chaos, year-to-date inflows for bitcoin exchange-traded funds remain positive at $545 million.
— Tanaya Macheel
If you can’t build it, buy it: Traders betting Pfizer will acquire GLP-1 drugmaker
Pfizer‘s decision to scrap development of its weight loss pill danuglipron is stoking speculation that the pharmaceutical giant will now look to acquisitions as a way to enter the lucrative GLP-1 market.
“The question now is: if PFE is still committed to obesity, what will it go out and acquire to stay in the game?” Citi’s health-care trading desk said in a note to clients.
Ahead of the market’s open, Pfizer shares are essentially flat, while stock in Viking Therapeutics is soaring more than 20%.
Citi sees Viking as a likely candidate, but would not be surprised if other companies in the space trade higher as well. Viking has both oral and subcutaneous GLP-1 drug candidates that have advanced beyond early-stage clinical trials.
Clinical stage biopharma company Structure Therapeutics was up nearly 15%, while Terns Pharmaceuticals and Altimmune both rose about 7%.
— Christina Cheddar Berk
Stocks open higher
Stocks kicked off Monday’s session in the green.
The Dow jumped 480 points, or 1.2%, shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively.
— Alex Harring
Yellen says recession risks ‘have gone way up’ due to tariffs
Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday that President Trump’s tariffs have escalated the risks of a recession.
“Recession probabilities have gone way up,” Yellen told CNBC during a “Squawk Box” interview. “I wouldn’t want to go so far as to forecast a recession, but look, estimates suggest that the impact … if they stay where they are on consumers, could be in the region of $4,000, and that is a big hit to household income that can lead to less consumer spending on a wide range of goods.”
In addition, she said businesses will be reluctant to spend amid the uncertainty over the levies, risking a “significant recession.”
Nevertheless, Yellen said she thinks the Federal Reserve, where she served as chair prior to her stint at the Treasury, will be “reluctant” to cut interest rates given inflation risks from the tariffs.
— Jeff Cox
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket Monday
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Goldman Sachs — The investment bank gained nearly 2% after reporting a top- and bottom-line beat in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs posted earnings of $14.12 per share while analysts had called for $12.35, according to LSEG. Revenue of $15.06 billion also beat consensus expectations for $14.81 billion.
- Pfizer — Shares were down slightly in the premarket after the company said it would halt development of its daily weight loss pill. This comes after a patient experienced a liver injury possibly caused by the drug during a trial.
- Apple — The iPhone maker popped more than 5% Monday morning after Trump announced smartphones, among other electronics, would be exempt from reciprocal tariffs, at least temporarily.
The full list can be found here.
— Hakyung Kim
Goldman Sachs rises after earnings beat
Goldman Sachs shares popped nearly 3% in Monday’s premarket after first-quarter earnings topped expectations.
The bank earned $14.12 per share on $15.06 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG forecast $12.35 in earnings per share and $14.81 billion in revenue.
Goldman shares have tumbled more than 13% in 2025.
— Alex Harring, Hugh Son
Pfizer falls after ending development of daily weight loss pill
The Pfizer logo is seen at the company’s world headquarters in New York on April 28, 2014.
Pfizer shares were down more than 1% in the premarket after the company said it would halt development of its daily weight loss pill. This comes after a patient experienced a liver injury possibly caused by the drug during a trial.
“While we are disappointed to discontinue the development of danuglipron, we remain committed to evaluating and advancing promising programs in an effort to bring innovative new medicines to patients,” Dr. Chris Boshoff, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, said in the release.
— Fred Imbert, Annika Kim Constantino
Hong Kong shares rise over 2% to lead gains in Asia after Trump pauses tariffs on consumer electronics
Asia-Pacific markets climbed Monday as U.S. President Trump paused tariffs on some consumer electronics, boosting risk sentiment.
Hong Kong stocks led gains in the region, with the Hang Seng Index ending the day 2.4% higher at 21,417.40 and Hang Seng Tech Index moving up 2.34% to 5,015.12.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 rose 0.23% to close at 3,759.14.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 ended the day 1.18% higher at 33,982.36, while the broader Topix index rose 0.88% to 2,488.51.
In South Korea, the Kospi index added 0.95% to close at 2,455.89, while the small-cap Kosdaq advanced 1.92% to 708.98.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased 1.34% to close at 7,748.60.
Indian markets were closed for a public holiday.
— Amala Balakrishner
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 President Donald Trump’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 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