Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures rose Wednesday evening following a sharp rally on Wall Street, as President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on steep reciprocal tariffs, while simultaneously targeting China with new, higher tariffs.
S&P 500 Futures rose 0.5% to 5,516.25 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures edged up 0.2% to 19,298.25 points by 20:10 ET (00:10 GMT). Dow Jones Futures gained 0.7% to 41,109.0 points.
Trump announces 90-day tariff pause; hits China with higher duties
President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most U.S. trading partners, triggering a major rally on Wall Street.
In a Truth Social post, Trump cited outreach from over 75 countries seeking trade negotiations as a primary reason for the tariff suspension.
Trump acknowledged that critiques from commentators, whom he referred to as "yippy and afraid," played a role in his decision to implement the tariff pause.
The 90-day suspension applied to the reciprocal tariffs which came into effect at midnight, reducing them to a baseline rate of 10% during this period.
However, the pause did not extend to China. In a sharp escalation of trade tensions, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% from 104%.
The increase followed Beijing’s decision to raise retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%, up from 34%, effective April 10.
Sectoral duties on goods such as automobiles remained subject to a 25% tariff.
Wall Street soars; S&P 500 jumps 10%, Nasdaq rallies 12%
Earlier in the day, Trump encouraged investors through a post on Truth Social, declaring, "This is a great time to buy!" This message coincided with the market’s positive response to the tariff announcements.
The S&P 500 soared 9.5% on Wednesday, marking its best single-day performance since the 2008 financial crisis.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite surged 12.2%, its largest daily gain since 2001, driven by optimism around easing trade tensions for U.S. tech firms.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also jumped, closing nearly 8% higher.
Tesla surges 23%, NVIDIA jumps 19%, Apple adds 15%
The technology sector saw a sharp rebound on Wednesday with the heavyweight “Magnificent 7” shares skyrocketing.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA ) shares closed 22.6% higher, while market darling NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA ) jumped 18.6% on Wednesday.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL ) surged 15.3%, while Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM ) advanced 24%.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) closed 12% higher, while Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META ) saw 15% gains.
Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO )closed 19% higher.
Looking ahead, investors await consumer price index report due on Thursday for guidance on the country’s inflation outlook.