Stock Market Today: Stocks power higher on tariff relief hopes

The S&P 500 snapped a four-week losing streak, but remains deeply underwater heading into the close of the first quarter.

Mar 24, 2025 - 11:04

Stock Market Today: Stocks power higher on tariff relief hopes

U.S. equity futures moved firmly higher in early Monday trading, while the Treasury yields and the dollar were active, as investors reacted to reports of a potential walk-back on tariffs from President Donald Trump heading into the final week of a challenging first quarter on Wall Street.

Stocks managed to eek out a modest gain last Friday, lifting the S&P 500 to a small five-day gain that snapped the benchmark's four-week losing streak but still leaves it down more than 4.8% for the month.

With the April 2 deadline for so-called reciprocal tariffs firmly in place, however, stocks remain sensitive to headlines from the White House as investors look to clarification of President Trump's plan to impose swingeing levies on goods imported from nearly all of America's trading partners.

A Bloomberg report suggests President Trump may water-down from of his previous tariff threats when new levies are unveiled on April 2.

A Bloomberg News report, published Monday, suggests the administration could exempt nations with a U.S. trade deficit, while noting that the President could also back-down from a previous threat to impose sector-specific tariffs on pharmaceuticals, autos and semiconductors.

That's boosting stock futures heading into the start of the week, the last of the first quarter, as investors look to a key February inflation reading and the final estimate of fourth quarter GDP over the coming days.

On Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest an opening bell gain of around 53 points, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average called 300 points higher.

The tech-focused Nasdaq, which is down 5.64% for the month, is priced for an opening bell gain of around 230 points with Tesla (TSLA) , Nvidia (NVDA) , Intel (INTC) and Micron (MU) active in premarket trading.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields were modestly higher at 4.283% while 2-year notes were marked 5 basis points higher from Friday levels at 3.985%.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six global currency peers, was little-changed at 104.006 heading into the New York trading session.

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In Europe, the Stoxx 600 benchmark continued it run of gains, which has lifted the benchmark 7.8% so far this year, with a modest early advance of 0.15%, while the FTSE 100 nudged 0.2% higher in London.

March PMI activity data, however, continues to suggest contraction in the region's manufacturing sector, as well as slowing growth in services, suggesting a more difficult investing environment in the months ahead

Overnight in Asia, a firmer yen and tariff caution kept a lid on gains for the Nikkei 225, which closed 0.18% lower in Tokyo, while the region-wide MSCI ex-Japan index rose 0.53% into the end of the Monday session.