World markets rallied Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump said electronics equivalent to computer chips, smart phones and laptops won’t face the identical U.S. import duties as another products, giving tech shares a lift.
In early European trading, Germany’s DAX gained 2.4 per cent to twenty,857.54, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up two per cent at 7,245.28. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 1.8 per cent to eight,104.83.
The longer term for the S&P 500 gained 1.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9 per cent.
Asian shares logged sturdy gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 per cent to 33,982.36 and South Korea’s Kospi gained one per cent to 2,455.89.
Shares in technology firms surged, with Tokyo Electron up 1.4 per cent and Advantest, a testing equipment maker, up 4.9 per cent. South Korea’s biggest company, Samsung Electronics, gained 1.8 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.4 per cent to 21,417.40, while the Shanghai Composite index picked up 0.8 per cent to three,262.81 after the federal government reported that China’s exports surged 12.4 per cent in March from a 12 months earlier.
Trump said he was temporarily exempting smartphones, computers and other electronics from his tariffs after China announced Friday that it was boosting its tariffs on U.S. products to 125 per cent in the most recent tit-for-tat increase following Trump’s escalations on imports from China.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Trump’s move was “a small step” toward fixing its wrongful motion of what Trump calls reciprocal tariffs. It urged him to completely cancel them.
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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.3 per cent, closing at 7,748.60.
The Taiex fell 0.1% in Taiwan, whose economy is heavily depending on exports of computer chips and other high-tech goods after Trump said the brand new chip tariffs might be announced “over the following week.”
The friction between the world’s two largest economies could cause widespread damage and a possible global recession, even after Trump recently announced a 90-day pause on a few of his tariffs for other countries, aside from China.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 1.8 per cent, capping a chaotic and historic week. The Dow gained 1.6 per cent and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.1 per cent.
Stocks kicked higher as pressure eased a bit from throughout the U.S. bond market, which was flashing serious warning signals last week that drew Trump’s attention.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was trading at 4.44 per cent early Monday. On Friday, it topped 4.58 per cent within the morning, up from 4.01 per cent every week ago. That’s a significant move for a market that typically measures things in hundredths of a percentage point.
Bond yields typically fall in anxious times. Investors outside america may be selling U.S. bonds due to trade war, and hedge funds may very well be selling whatever’s available to lift money to cover other losses. A deeper worry is over whether Trump’s frenetic tariff actions are raising doubts over the U.S. popularity because the world’s safest place to maintain money.
A report on U.S. inflation on the wholesale level got here in higher than expected. Nevertheless it’s a backward looking indicator, measuring March’s price levels. The fear is that inflation will rise in coming months as Trump’s tariffs make their way through the economy. And that might tie the Fed’s hands.
Friday’s swings got here after a set of stronger-than-expected profit reports from a few of the biggest U.S. banks, which traditionally help kick off each earnings reporting season.
JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo all reported stronger profit for the primary three months of the 12 months than analysts expected. JPMorgan Chase rose 4 per cent, Morgan Stanley added 1.4 per cent and Wells Fargo lost one per cent.
In other dealings early Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil reversed early losses, gaining 63 cents to $62.13 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 62 cents to $65.38 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar dropped to 143.25 Japanese yen from 143.91 yen. The euro climbed to $1.1382 from $1.1320.
Gold, considered a shelter for investors, had shed about $9 to $3,235 an oz early Monday.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
