Powell to speak Wednesday while earnings season kicks off this week.
Stocks were moving higher on Monday morning, looking to build on the momentum from last week, when the markets S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones Industrial Average were all up about 5%.
It was a positive end to a wild and historic week that saw the Nasdaq log its best day ever after President Donald Trump paused additional tariffs for 90 days. But it only clawed back roughly half of the losses from the previous week when the Nasdaq fell 10%.
This week, tariff news continues to dominate as Trump temporarily eliminated tariffs on smartphones, computers, and electronics coming into the United States. This includes the 10% baseline tariffs, and the additional 125% tariffs placed on China.
It helped lift markets on Monday, but Trump made clear in a social media post that this move was temporary and that imports on these products from China were still subject to the initial 20% tariffs.
“These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
Apple, semiconductor stocks rise
Trump also said they will be reviewing tariffs on semiconductor companies, as well as the entire electronics supply chain. “What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States,” Trump wrote.
As of 10:45 a.m. ET, the Dow was up about 493 points or 1.2%, while the S&P 500 gained 85 points or 1.6%. The Nasdaq rose 306 points or 1.8% while the Russell 2000 increased 21 points or 1.1%.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was up about 3.6% Monday on this latest tariff twist, while semiconductor stocks including Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) were also surging. Intel jumped 6% on Monday while Micron climbed 5.8%.
First quarter earnings kick off
This week marks the first full week of first quarter corporate earnings. On Friday, some of the big financial firms like JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) all reported better than expected earnings.
This week, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) reports earnings on Monday, followed by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) on Tuesday; ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) and US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) on Wednesday; and American Express (NYSE:AXP), UnitedHealth ((NYSE:UH), and Charles Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) on Thursday, to name a few.
Also, this week, the retail sales reports for march will be published on Wednesday, which should shed some light on consumer confidence in these turbulent times.
In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak Wednesday after at the Economic Club of Chicago, giving his Economic Outlook. Investors will be listening closely for any guidance on what the Fed does at its May meeting with rates.
