WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday, regaining ground following the steep drop seen last week. The major averages have also shown significant moves to the upside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Nasdaq is up 368.74 points or 2.0 percent at 19,105.95, the S&P 500 is up 92.22 points or 1.6 percent at 5,895.04 and the Dow is up 532.33 points or 1.3 percent at 42,135.40.
The rally on Wall Street comes after President Donald Trump announced he is delaying a threatened 50 percent tariff on imports from the European Union.
'I received a call today from Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, requesting an extension on the June 1st deadline on the 50% Tariff with respect to Trade and the European Union,' Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
'I agreed to the extension - July 9, 2025 - It was my privilege to do so,' he added. 'The Commission President said that talks will begin rapidly.'
Trump said in a subsequent Truth Social post this morning that the EU has 'called to quickly establish meeting dates,' which he described as a 'positive event.'
'I hope that they will, FINALLY, like my same demand to China, open up the European Nations for Trade with the United States of America,' he said. 'They will BOTH be very happy, and successful, if they do!!!'
The move by Trump comes as analysts previously suggested the threatened tariff on the EU was just a negotiating tactic and not where the eventual rate will wind up.
Positive sentiment was also generated in reaction to a report released by the Conference Board showing a substantial improvement by U.S. consumer confidence in the month of May.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index spiked to 98.0 in May after plunging to a downwardly revised 85.7 in April.
Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to inch up to 87.3 from the 86.0 originally reported for the previous month.
Sector News
Airline stocks are turning in some of the market's best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 4.3 percent.
Substantial strength is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.0 percent spike by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Networking, computer hardware and telecom stocks are also seeing considerable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 1.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.9 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4.6 basis points at 4.465 percent.
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