Wall Street rallies on hopes of Trump's tariff easing
The Tuesday session on Wall Street ended with gains, with the S&P 500 and Dow marking the sixth consecutive day of profits, representing the longest streak since July for the Dow and November for the S&P 500. The increases are due to hopes for tariff policy easing by President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones Industrial rose 0.75%, closing at 40,528 points, and the S&P 500 increased by 0.58%, ending the day at 5,561 points. The mid-cap index, Russell 2000, grew by 0.49% to 1,975 points.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that President Donald Trump would sign an executive order easing car tariffs later that day. According to the new regulations, cars assembled in the USA with less than 15% foreign parts are to be exempt from the tax.
American car tariffs: White House changes stance
As the secretary told reporters, the new regulations, introduced less than a month after tariffs on imported cars, aim to encourage automakers to move production and the automotive parts supply chain to the USA. Until now, cars produced in the USA were taxed based on the percentage of foreign components. Now, they are exempt from tariffs if they consist of at least 85% American parts.
Additionally, Lutnick announced that automakers would also receive a 15% rebate on imported parts costs, which will increase in price due to tariffs. Manufacturers are also to be exempted from paying other tariffs, including those on steel and aluminium, and 10% tariffs on most other goods.
"Until we find some resolution on the trade front, I think little else will matter," said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird, adding that the S&P 500 index could be trading between 5,100 and 5,700 points while investors await trade progress.
The American consumer confidence index fell to 86 points in April from 93.9 points a month earlier, after revision, according to the Conference Board report. Analysts had expected the index to be 87.7 points.
The number of job openings in the USA, according to the JOLTS survey, in March was 7.2 million compared to 7.48 million recorded a month earlier after a revision from 7.57 million. It was expected that the number of available positions would be 7.49 million.
