United States markets rebounded sharply on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) after President Donald Trump signalled a softer approach to China, easing investor concerns that sparked a heavy sell-off late last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 588.0 points or 1.3% to 46,067.6, the S&P 500 gained 102.2 points or 1.6% to 6,654.7, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 490.2 points or 2.2% to 22,694.6.
The rebound came after Trump attempted to calm markets with a post on Truth Social suggesting that his administration may not move forward with the threatened “massive increase of tariffs” on China.
“Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I,” Trump wrote. “The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it.”
China had announced last Thursday that it would tighten its rare earth export controls, prompting Trump to respond on Friday with a pledge to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports and new export restrictions on U.S.-made critical software from 1 November.
AI-related technology stocks led Monday’s rally. Broadcom surged 9.9% after confirming a partnership with OpenAI to develop the startup’s first in-house artificial intelligence processors.
Nvidia gained 2.8%, and Micron Technology advanced 6.2%.
Investors also looked ahead to the start of the U.S. earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo set to report results on Tuesday.
Among individual movers, Fastenal dropped 7.5% after the industrial supplier’s third-quarter earnings fell short of expectations. The company reported earnings per share of $0.30, slightly below consensus forecasts, while revenue rose 11.7% to $2.13 billion, in line with market estimates.
The bond market remained closed on Monday in observance of the Columbus Day holiday.
