The US stock market experienced a significant rally as investors reacted positively to potential easing of trade tensions and Federal Reserve developments. The Dow Jones surged by 420 points as reports suggested the White House might reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from a maximum of 145% to between 50% and 65%. This move aims to alleviate US-China trade tensions that have been a point of uncertainty for the global economy.
Further market confidence was bolstered by President Trump's decision not to remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, calming investor concerns. The Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book highlighted stable US economic expansion but noted trade policy as a potential risk.
Major indices saw notable gains: the Dow Jones increased 1.08%, Nasdaq rose 2.5%, S&P 500 climbed 1.67%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumped 3.96%. Among individual stocks, Tesla (TSLA) soared 5.37% following its better-than-expected Q1 profits and CEO Elon Musk's increased focus on the company. Intel (INTC) rose 5.54% amid layoff reports, while Alphabet (GOOGL) increased 2.56% as potential changes to its Chrome browser were discussed.
