A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during the opening bell on March 24, 2025.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
Stocks jumped Monday on reports that President Donald Trump may hold back from implementing some of his wide-ranging tariff plans, raising hopes the U.S. will avoid plunging the world into an all-out trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped about 475 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500 added 1.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained roughly 1.9%.
Shares of Tesla, which have fallen nine straight weeks, were up more than 9%, adding to its Friday gains. Meta and Nvidia each climbed about 3%.
Investors remain jittery over a potential slowdown in U.S. economic growth, as Trump’s April 2 start date for reciprocal tariffs approaches. Trump has said that his reciprocal tariffs are aimed at any country that imposes duties on U.S. imports.
Trump announced on Monday that the U.S. will impose 25% tariffs on countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela, effective April 2.
But the Wall Street Journal earlier reported the tariffs are expected to be more narrow in scope and will likely exclude some industry-specific duties, citing an administration official. Trump will also exclude some nations from the tariffs, Bloomberg News reported. Both the WSJ and Bloomberg News reports noted that the situation remains fluid and the plans could change.
Trump seemingly lowered the temperature for investors on Friday after he told reporters that there could potentially be “flexibility” for his reciprocal tariff plan, which helped push major averages into the green for the session.
“Market conditions are improving dramatically as the angst around reciprocal tariffs is somewhat diminishing. From a risk standpoint, escalation or retaliation has always been a concern, but should the administration come through with a more targeted and tactical strategy around tariff implementation, risks of a full-blown trade war are reduced,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management. “We see this as a potential lift to growth in the U.S., should reciprocal tariffs come in a more watered-down form.”
The pending duties and Trump’s overall rhetoric on U.S. trade policy have raised fears among investors that the U.S. economy could be on shaky footing. Those concerns were exacerbated by weakening consumer sentiment data. Stocks rapidly fell starting in late February with the S&P 500, at one point, closing in correction territory.
However, investors received some encouraging words from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who last week said that any potential negative impacts from Trump’s tariffs will likely be short-lived. On the data front this week, investors will receive a consumer confidence reading on Tuesday, followed by initial weekly jobless claims figures on Thursday.
Stocks are coming off of a much-needed winning week, which saw the S&P 500 end Friday in the green and avoid four-straight weekly losses. After last week’s small gain, the S&P 500 sits 7.8% off its record high. The Nasdaq Composite also snapped a four-week losing streak last week with a small gain and sits 12% off its record high.
Bitcoin is just another tech stock, not a market hedge, study shows
Bitcoin is more closely correlated to the Nasdaq than it is to gold most of the time, and investors could benefit from viewing it as another big tech stock, says Standard Chartered.
Bitcoin’s correlation with the Nasdaq is currently at about 0.5, after it approached 0.8 earlier this year, according to the bank. Meanwhile, its correlation with gold has been falling since January, touching zero at one point, and is now just above 0.2.
Bitcoin is frequently viewed as “digital gold” and a hedge against risks facing the traditional financial sector. Geoff Kendrick, Standard Chartered’s global head of digital assets research, said he still sees the flagship cryptocurrency serving that purpose but that “in reality … the need for such hedges is very infrequent.”
For more, read our full story here.
— Tanaya Macheel
See the stocks moving midday
BofA downgrades Lockheed Martin to neutral
The Lockheed Martin logo is seen in this illustration taken March 10, 2025.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
Bank of America is stepping to the sidelines on Lockheed Martin after the company lost on the Pentagon deal to build the next fighter jet to rival Boeing.
Analyst Ronald Epstein lowered his rating on shares to neutral from buy. He also slashed his price objective to $485 from $685.
Most of Wall Street had expected Lockheed Martin to secure the contract, Epstein wrote in a research note on Monday.
“Beware the Ides of March,” Epstein said. “In the wake of this decision, we expect LMT shares to be largely rangebound.”
Shares declined 2.4% Monday.
— Hakyung Kim
Small-caps stocks rally
The small-cap Russell 2000 index gained about 2% in morning trading on Monday, outperforming the S&P 500’s gain of around 1.5%.
Even with Monday’s move, the index still sits in correction territory — meaning a drop of 10% or more from its recent high — at around 15% below its all-time high reached in November 2024.
The move higher comes after Russell 2000 was on the verge of entering a bear market — defined as a decline of 20% or more from a recent high — during the market’s recent monthlong rout. The index was down roughly 19% from its November high on March 13.
.RUT, 1-day
— Sean Conlon
Services activity perks up, manufacturing lags, S&P ‘flash’ readings show
Service-sector activity was stronger than expected in March while manufacturing lagged, S&P Global reported Monday.
The firm’s flash services index turned in a reading of 54.3, up from 51 in February and better than the 51.5 Dow Jones consensus estimate. Though the reading beat the forecast, S&P noted that the outlook hit its second-lowest since October 2022 while expectations for job growth “was also subdued.”
On manufacturing, the 49.8 reading was a downshift from the 52.7 in February and missed the 51.5 estimate.
“Input price inflation accelerated sharply, especially in manufacturing, to a near two-year high, often attributed to the impact of tariff policies. However, competition limited the pass-through of higher costs to selling prices,” the firm added.
— Jeff Cox
Stocks open Monday in the green
Bitcoin climbs above $87,000 on easing tariff concerns
Several virtual coins including a Bitcoin and Ethereum on March 25, 2025.
Romain Costaseca | Hans Lucas | AFP | Getty Images
Bitcoin reclaimed the $87,000 mark, a level it has not seen since the beginning of the month, as hopeful traders bet President Trump’s tariffs planned for April 2 could be more measured than expected.
Coinbase and MicroStrategy were each higher by more than 3% in premarket trading. Bitcoin miners Core Scientific, Mara Holdings and CleanSpark each gained 4%.
Bitcoin is currently up 4% in March, but still down 6.5% for the year.
— Tanaya Macheel
Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Pinterest, Viasat and more
These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:
- Pinterest — The social media stock added nearly 5% following an upgrade to buy from neutral at Guggenheim.
- Viasat — Shares gained 4% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the satellite stock, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink, to a buy rating from hold.
- Azek — Shares of the outdoor products manufacturer soared 23% after cement manufacturer James Hardie Industries said it would acquire AZEK in a cash and stock deal totaling around $9 billion.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Melius Research upgrades shares of Boeing following contract win
Boeing could be due for even more gains from here as a result of its recent contract award from President Trump, according to Melius Research.
Shares rose almost 2% in the premarket after analyst Scott Mikus upgraded shares of the aerospace company to buy from hold. Its updated price target now reflects more than 14% upside ahead, as of Friday’s close.
On Friday, Trump awarded Boeing a contract over rival Lockheed Martin to create the next-generation fighter jet known as the F-47. Shares of Boeing rose more than 3% following the award announcement, while Lockheed Martin fell nearly 6%. That puts Boeing’s gains over the past six months at more than 14% and Lockheed Martin’s losses during that period at around 24%.
“Going forward, we believe Boeing is entering a period of positive newsflow that can drive the stock higher,” the analyst wrote Monday. “While we acknowledge that Boeing Defense (BDS) remains a fixer-upper, Phantom Works’ [Next Generation Air Dominance] win should provide Boeing with $20B of profitable cost-plus defense sales over the next five years.”
Mikus estimates that production contracts for the Next Generation Air Dominance program could lead to $60 billion in sales over multiple decades. On top of that, the contract win will boost morale among employees and bolster BDS’ ability to keep top engineering talent, he added.
Meanwhile, the analyst also downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin to hold from buy, citing both competitive losses and increasing concerns surrounding Europe attempting to reduce its reliance on U.S. defense contractors. Its updated target implies about 10% upside from Friday’s close.
— Sean Conlon
Tech stocks jump in premarket trading, led by gains in Tesla and Meta
A damaged Tesla vehicle is loaded onto a tow truck from a parking lot in Hamilton, Canada, on March 20, 2025.
Katherine Ky Cheng | Getty Images
Shares of several beaten-down technology companies rose during premarket trading Monday.
Tesla stock, which has fallen nine straight weeks, jumped 3.6% before market open. Shares of Meta and Advanced Micro Devices each gained roughly 2.7%, while Nvidia added 1.9%.
Shares of Apple, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet also rose.
— Pia Singh
James Hardie Industries to acquire AZEK in a cash and stock deal
James Hardie Industries will acquire outdoor products manufacturer AZEK in a cash and stock deal valued at nearly $9 billion, the fiber-cement maker said.
The deal will see AZEK shareholders receive $26.45 in cash and 1.0340 ordinary shares of James Hardie, which will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, for each AZEK share. This will bring the total per share value to $56.88 per share, equating to a 37.4% premium to the closing price of AZEK’s stock on Friday.
— Brian Evans
White House reportedly plans to narrow scope of Trump’s April 2 tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at the White House on the South Lawn in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Afp | Getty Images
The White House is planning to issue a more narrow slate of tariffs than previously expected on April 2, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Sunday, citing an administration official.
Previously announced reciprocal duties are still planned to be announced on April 2, the report said, albeit likely without sector-specific duties that President Donald Trump had aimed at sectors including automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
— Brian Evans
Stock futures rise on Sunday
U.S. stock futures were higher on Sunday as investors look to push equities higher for a second straight week.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 197 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.5%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.6%.
— Brian Evans
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