By Joe Wallace and Krystal Hur
Investors are welcoming the latest pivot on tariffs, with the U.S. set to limit the range of import levies it introduces next week.
U.S. stock benchmarks started the week solidly higher. The S&P 500 inched up last week, snapping a four-week losing streak partly driven by uncertainty caused by President Trump's trade policy.
Trump had said he would impose tariffs to match those aimed at the U.S. by trading partners, plus duties on imports in sectors such as autos and pharma, starting on April 2.
But the planned reciprocal action looks set to be more targeted than originally thought, The Wall Street Journal reported. The administration has narrowed its focus to about 15% of nations running persistent trade imbalances with the U.S.-dubbed the "dirty 15" by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Meanwhile, the sectoral tariffs are now unlikely to be announced April 2.
Though the measures under consideration still amount to a shock to world trade, they fall short of the worst-case economic scenarios investors had been girding for.
In recent trading:
Major stock indexes rose. The S&P 500, Dow industrials and Nasdaq Composite climbed.
The 10-year Treasury yield edged up. They have fallen in recent weeks on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut rates further than previously thought this year.
European stocks fell.
Stock indexes rose in Hong Kong and mainland China. But they fell in Japan.
Tesla shares rose, extending Friday's gains.
Coming up:
Flash PMIs: At 9:45 a.m. ET, S&P Global will release preliminary purchasing managers indexes for March. They could give clues about the early effects of tariffs on U.S. business.
Write to Joe Wallace at joe.wallace@wsj.com and Krystal Hur at krystal.hur@wsj.com
This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2025 09:39 ET (13:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
