The White House’s decision to temporarily exempt certain consumer electronics from tariffs led to a rebound in global equity markets on Monday, despite the United States issuing warnings that this relief might be short-lived. Investors showed optimism that technology companies and American consumers could avoid the harshest impacts of President Donald Trump’s trade conflict.
Stock futures in the United States and stocks in Europe saw an increase, with Asian markets also advancing after the White House excluded smartphones, laptops, and other devices from Trump’s proposed reciprocal tariffs, which included a potential 145 percent levy on imports from China. This exemption is viewed as a positive development for companies like Apple and other technology firms that depend on Chinese manufacturing for products such as iPhones.
President Trump and other U.S. officials minimized the significance of the reprieve, indicating that sector-specific tariffs on electronics remained part of a government investigation into semiconductors, which are also subject to another round of tariffs. Trump emphasized on his Truth Social platform that no one would receive leniency regarding trade imbalances and non-monetary tariff barriers, particularly criticizing China.
While speaking with journalists aboard Air Force One, Trump indicated a willingness to show some “flexibility” for certain products and suggested that discussions with key companies about the tariffs were forthcoming. When questioned about the tariff rates for semiconductors, Trump stated that an announcement would be made in the following week.
Mitul Kotecha, head of emerging markets macro strategy at Barclays, noted that concerns about U.S. assets persist, though the temporary relief for electronics and chips is perceived by some investors as a potential starting point for a deal between the United States and China. Kotecha remarked that markets are seizing any sign of relief currently.
Asian markets reflected this optimistic sentiment, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index increasing by 2.1 percent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbing by 1.2 percent, and the broader Topix rising by 0.9 percent. In Europe, stock futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.3 percent, while those for the Nasdaq 100 rose by 1.6 percent. The FTSE 100 increased by 1.4 percent, and the Stoxx Europe 600 grew by 1.6 percent in early trading.
Following a three-year low on Friday, the U.S. dollar decreased by 0.9 percent on Monday against a basket of currencies from trading partners, reflecting investor caution about increasing exposure to U.S. assets. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury, considered an important indicator of expectations for future U.S. growth, declined by 0.03 percentage points to 4.46 percent, though still above the 4.17 percent yield before what Trump termed tariff “liberation day” on April 2.
China’s mainland CSI 300 increased by 0.5 percent as official data revealed a surge in exports from the world’s second-largest economy the previous month, driven by an urgency to ship goods ahead of the tariffs. Exports rose by 12.4 percent in March year-on-year in U.S. dollar terms, according to figures from China’s customs administration, significantly exceeding expectations and marking the largest increase since October. Meanwhile, imports decreased by 4.3 percent, a less severe drop compared to the 8.4 percent decline recorded during the January-February period.
