Stock Market Today: Stocks end higher on tariff relief hopes

Updated at 4:50 PM EDT by Rob Lenihan

Stocks ended firmly higher Monday, as investors reacted to reports of a potential walkback on tariffs from President Donald Trump heading into the final week of a challenging first quarter on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 597.97 points, or 1.42%, to finish the session at 42,583.32, while the S&P 500 gained 1.76% to close at 5,767.57, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.27% to end the day at 18,188.59.

Tesla, which has been on a nine-week losing streak, ended up nearly 12%.

Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, said that the S&P 500 rose 0.5% last week, marking the first weekly advance for the index since February 14.

“Buying pressure was relatively widespread, with advancing shares outpacing decliners by a ratio of 1.4:1,” he said. “The lack of any major tariff news and a dovish outcome from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) helped bring buyers back into the market.”

The end of the broader market’s month-long losing streak provided some much-needed positive news for investors, Turnquist said, adding that, historically, four-week losing streaks are rare, occurring only 66 other times since 1928.

Meanwhile, the FBI launched a new task force to investigate attacks targeting Tesla, the electric vehicle company headed by Trump administration DOGE chief Elon Musk.

The announcement came hours after multiple incendiary devices were found at a Tesla showroom in Austin, Texas, the city where the company’s headquarters is located, CNBC reported.

There have been at least 80 reported cases of vandalism or arson of Tesla vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to peaceful protests at Tesla showrooms.

Updated at 12:45 PM EDT

Policy by the hour

Stocks are paring some of their earlier gains, but remain firmly higher on the session, following comments from President Trump suggesting he'll unveil sector-specific tariffs focus on autos, pharmaceuticals and aluminum "in the very near future".

The President remarks appear to contradict reporting from this morning, and over the weekend, that tariffs would be more targeted, and focused on nations with long and persistent trade surpluses, rather than sweeping across-the-board levies.

The S&P 500 was last marked 88 points, or 1.56% higher on the day, with the Nasdaq up 357 points, or 2.01% and the Dow up just over 500 points. 

TRUMP: ANNOUNCING CARS TARIFF SHORTLY, PHARMA AT 'SOME POINT'— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) March 24, 2025

Updated at 9:55 AM EDT

Surging services

Activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector slumped in March, according to PMI data published by S&P Global, but that was offset by a surprise surge in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. GDP growth.

S&P's headline composite index for March rose 2.9 points to 53.5, well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction, while the manufacturing reading fell 2.9 points to 49.8. Services, however, were up 2.3 points to 54.3.

Stocks extended gains following the data release, with the S&P 500 marked 83 points, or 1.47% higher on the session and the Nasdaq up 335 points, or 1.88%.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes yields extended their overnight run, rising to 4.317% following the PMI data, while 2-year notes were pegged 3 basis points higher at 4.007%.

S&P Global US Flash PMI for March.. biggest jump since last May pic.twitter.com/hrToujLh5B— Mike Zaccardi, CFA, CMT