US Equity Indexes Rise as Trump Administration Offers Tariff Relief

01:43 PM EDT, 04/14/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose after midday on Monday as the trade tariff landscape evolved over the weekend, offering temporary relief from punitive import duties to some industries.

The Nasdaq rose 0.1% to 16,737.1, with the S&P 500 0.4% up to 5,383.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.3% higher at 40,338.4. All sectors, except consumer discretionary and communications services, rose intraday, with real estate, utilities, and consumer staples leading the gainers.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also known as the fear index, slumped 10% to 33.69 after the Trump administration altered certain trade levies.

"President Donald Trump's tariff policy just took a sharp turn - again," Saxo Chief Investment Strategist Charu Chanana said in a note Monday. The White House excluded major electronics categories from the steepest round of tariffs after imposing a 145% levy on Chinese goods and 10% on imports from other trade partners.

"This move signals a shift from country-specific reciprocal tariff strategy to sector-focused protectionism," Chanana said in the note. "While the 20% China tariff remains in place, especially targeting fentanyl-related imports, the US appears to be laying the groundwork for new semiconductor-focused tariffs under Section 232, a national security clause that could make these duties more durable and harder to reverse."

Apple ( AAPL ) , heavily reliant on China for manufacturing, was up 3%, off its pre-bell highs of over 6%.

The ICE US Dollar Index, a gauge of the greenback's performance against the world's major currencies, was down 0.3% to 99.6 intraday.

"The dollar lost ground, with the dollar index touching a three-year low this morning as volatile tariff headlines have driven reallocation away from US assets," Jim Reid, head of global fundamental credit strategy at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.

Most US Treasury yields retreated intraday, with the 10-year 8.8 basis points down to 4.41%, the two-year 10.3 basis points lower at 3.85%, and the 30-year yield 4.5 basis points down to 4.83%.

Last week, Treasuries "massively underperformed," Reid said in the note. The US 30-year yield saw a weekly jump of 46 basis points, the most since 1987, while the German 10-year Treasury-bund spread of more than 50 basis points represented a weekly record gain, with data going back to the country's reunification.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slid 1% to $60.86 a barrel.

Gold futures fell 0.6% to $3,224.51 per ounce, while their silver counterpart rose 0.4% to $32.05.

In company news, Goldman Sachs' ( GS ) Q1 results surpassed Wall Street's views as equities-trading revenue reached record levels. Shares rose 2.4% intraday, the second-biggest gainer on the Dow.

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