US stocks end Monday sharply higher after US-China trade deal announced

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks closed Monday with huge gains as the US and China announced a trade deal, lowering uncertainty and tensions in global trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.81%, or 1,160.72 points, to close at 42,410.1.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.35%, or 779.43 points, to 18,708.34 and the S&P 500 jumped 3.26%, or 184.28 points, to 5,844.19.

Delegations from the world's top two economies met in Geneva over the weekend, agreeing to a sweeping rollback of punitive tariffs for an initial 90-day period, and signaling a rare moment of relief in their protracted trade conflict and raising hopes for longer-term economic stability.

They said in a joint statement on Monday that they had agreed to a broad rollback of punitive tariffs for an initial 90 days.

The US will cut its tariffs on Chinese products from 145% to 30%, while China's will be reduced from 125% to 10% by May 14.

In a joint statement, both governments acknowledged the importance of "a sustainable, long-term, and mutually beneficial" trade relationship.

To that end, the two sides will launch a new dialogue mechanism to maintain the momentum, led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Future talks may alternate between "China, the United States, or a third country upon agreement of the parties" venues, with lower-level technical discussions convened as needed.

Last week, US President Donald Trump also announced a trade agreement with the UK in which Washington agreed to reduce import taxes on a set number of British vehicles and allow some steel and aluminum into the country tariff-free.

Following the news, Tesla jumped 6.75%, while Apple gained 6.3% and Nvidia surged 5.44% at close.

Companies with the most reliance on Chinese commodities saw the biggest increases in share prices. Dell Technologies rose 7.83% and Best Buy surged 6.57% while Amazon soared 8.07%.

The VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," dropped 16.03% to 18.39 – its lowest since March 27, when investors were still waiting for Trump's announcements of major tariff increases.​​​​​​​