Stocks were higher Wednesday as Wall Street looked to extend a strong start to the week that pushed the benchmark S&P 500 into the green for the year.
Technology stocks continued to lead the rebound. Shares of Nvidia advanced about 3%, following news that it would send Saudi Arabia 18,000 of its top artificial intelligence chips. Peer chip stock AMD also rose more than 6%. SMCI soared 17%.
Investors are showing signs of increased appetite for risk assets after the U.S. and China temporarily slashed tariffs on a wide array of goods. The U.S. reduced tariffs on China to 30% earlier this week, while China lowered its own levies to 10% on U.S. imports. Both nations had threatened in April to impose tariffs above 100% on the other.
The tentative agreement between the world’s biggest economies has led investors to hope it will eventually yield a more concrete trade agreement. China and the U.S. have not yet agreed to specific terms for a deal, however, and Trump said this week that a final agreement wouldn’t happen quickly.
Still, the 90-day pause in the steepest threatened tariffs news has calmed nerves for investors that were worried that rising trade disputes tensions might push the U.S. and global economies into a recession in 2025.
At one point last month, the S&P 500 was down more than 20% from its all-time high in February. Having since regained those losses, the hope now is that stocks can extend their recent rally gains as trade talks progress.
“It’s a big risk-on sentiment at the moment. … While the structural issues between [the U.S. and China] remain unresolved, I think the signal is quite clear that neither side wants to push trade tensions further,” said Lale Akoner, global market analyst at eToro.
The latest leg of the market rebound has seen blue-chip stocks build solid winning streaks. Apple has risen in four back-to-back sessions, while Amazon has notched five straight positive days. Outside of technology, Goldman Sachs has also climbed in five consecutive sessions, while Disney’s winning streak has hit six days.
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