U.S. Stocks Shrug Off Latest Tariff Threats, Close Mostly Higher

(RTTNews) - After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance throughout the trading day on Monday. With the upward move, the major averages partly offset the steep losses posted last Friday.

The major averages moved roughly sideways in afternoon trading, hovering in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 190.87 points or 1.0 percent to 19,714.27, the S&P 500 climbed 40.45 points or 0.7 percent to 6,066.44 and the Dow rose 167.01 points or 0.4 percent to 44,470.41.

The rebound on Wall Street may partly have reflected bargain hunting, as traders picked up stocks at somewhat reduced levels following the sharp pullback seen last Friday.

While Friday's slump partly reflected new tariff threats from President Donald Trump, traders largely shrugged off his latest threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports into the U.S.

The latest tariff threat comes after Trump said last Friday he plans to announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries this week, with the U.S. imposing tariffs on imports equal to the rates imposed on American exports.

"Perhaps investors have decided not to react every time Donald Trump yanks the steering wheel in another direction for fear of getting whiplash, or perhaps they've simply remembered how to operate in a world where volatility is baked in," said AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.

Meanwhile, amid a light day on the U.S. economic front, traders were also looking ahead to the release of several key reports in the coming days.

Reports on consumer and producer inflation are likely to be in focus, while reports on retail sales and industrial production may also attract attention.

Traders are also likely to keep a close eye on congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, looking for clues about the outlook for interest rates.

Sector News

Computer hardware stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the session, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 4.6 percent to its best closing level in almost seven months.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) helped lead the sector higher, soaring by 17.6 percent ahead of fiscal second quarter business update after the close of trading on Tuesday.

Steel stocks also saw significant strength in reaction to Trump's tariff threat, resulting in a 3.3 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Gold stocks also saw substantial strength amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 2.8 percent.

Oil producer, telecom and natural gas stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, while financial and biotechnology stocks bucked the uptrend.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Monday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.8 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8 percent, the German DAX Index increased by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.4 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground after an early upward move, ending the day roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, crept up by less than a basis point to 493 percent after hitting a low of 4.458 percent.

Looking Ahead

Amid another quiet day in terms of U.S. economic data, trading on Tuesday may be impacted by reaction to Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.