Stocks rally after news of U.S. - China agreement to ease tariffs

News of a U.S. agreement with China to temporarily ease tariffs sent stocks soaring on Monday, with the major indexes rising more than 2% in early trading.

The S&P 500 rose 157 points, or 2.8%, to 5,817 as of 10:17 EST, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1,041 points or 2.5% to 42,291. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3.7%, indicating a sigh of relief from tech companies as the steep Chinese tariffs threatened to upend their supply chains resulting in substantial price hikes for consumers.

In a joint statement released by The White House on Monday, the U.S. and China on Monday announced an that they would substantially lower tariffs for 90 days. The agreement was struck over the weekend in Switzerland, where Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Administrator Jamieson Greer met with a Chinese trade delegation.

Starting May 14, both countries will lower tariffs by 115%, according to the White House. That will bring the U.S. tariff on Chinese imports down to 30% from as high as 145%, and China's rate on American goods down to 10% from 125%.

Tech stocks strengthened on news of a China-U.S. truce Monday, with Nvidia stock climbing 4% in early trading. Amazon, which relies on imports from China, was also up 7%. Over 70% of the products sold on Amazon are produced in China, according to survey conducted by Jungle Scout.

The announcement strengthened the value of the U.S. dollar, with the dollar index surging over 1% to 101.5 — the first time since April 9 it's ticked back above 101.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In:
• Dow Jones
• S&P 500
• Nasdaq
• Tariffs
• China