Dow surges 337 points as Trump tweet eases trade worries
U.S. stocks rallied Monday, erasing morning losses, as investor concerns over U.S. trade tensions eased.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 336.70 points, or 1.37%, to 24,874.76, snapping a four-day losing streak. The S&P 500 rose 29.69 points, or 1.1%, to 2,720.94. The Nasdaq Composite jumped 72.84 points, or 1%, to 7,330.70.
On Monday, Trump tweeted that his recently announced tariffs on steel and aluminum would not be imposed on Mexico and Canada if NAFTA negotiations with the two American neighbors produce a new deal. The remarks eased concerns of a potential trade war.
“We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs,” Trump wrote in a tweet early Monday. “Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed,”
The tweet was more positive than his Friday tweet in which he wrote that “trade wars are good," sending stocks plunging as much as 300 points.
"There has always been the nagging concern among investors that the administration’s protectionist inclinations would eventually emerge. But, there also was the hope that such views would be tempered by more moderate voices, and that threats of trade wars were simply negotiating tactics," David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, wrote in a note to clients.
The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of market price swings, fell 4.39% to 18.73.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 2% to $62.48 a barrel. The International Energy Agency projected that the U.S. will become the world's top oil producer by 2023, surpassing current No. 1 Russia.
Gold was trading 0.2% lower at $1,320.80 an ounce.
Netflix shares jumped 4.63% to $315 after analysts at UBS and Macquarie hiked their price targets. The stock is now up 64.1% since the start of the year.
In terms of economic data, the big event this week will be Friday’s February employment report.