The major averages edged higher but closed off their session highs on Monday as investors digested the most recent tariff exemptions, which include smartphones, computers, and other consumer electronics.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.8 %, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) jumped 0.6%, trimming gains of more than 2% during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained more than 0.7%, or over 300 points.

Apple (AAPL) trimmed earlier gains but rose more than 2% as Wall Street viewed the iPhone maker as a top beneficiary of tariff exemptions revealed over the weekend.

Auto stocks also rose on Monday after President Trump told reporters he’s considering exemptions related to imported cars and parts to give manufacturers more time to set up shop in the US.

Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports:

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Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger reports:

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President Trump’s wish to bring down oil prices has so far gone his way, with crude oil futures hovering near four-year lows.

And some on Wall Street think prices have a lot further to fall before the administration would be motivated to step in to support oil markets the way cascading bond prices may have been the catalyst for a ‘Trump put’ in the form of a pause on tariffs.

“The price floor is now much lower,” wrote JPMorgan head of global commodities strategy Natasha Kaneva and her team on Monday.

“Unlike the Biden administration, which limited downside risk by guiding the refill of the US SPR [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] when WTI prices fell below $70, the Trump administration is actively pursuing lower oil prices, with intervention unlikely unless price drops to $50.”

That would imply about a 20% drop in oil prices from current levels, as West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude oil prices, the US benchmark, hovered near $61 per barrel on Monday. Brent (BZ=F) crude oil, the international benchmark, sat just below $65 a barrel.

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Housing stocks have struggled this year as mortgage rates ride a roller coaster amid Trump’s sweeping tariff plans. However, according to Wedbush, that turbulence could offer a buying opportunity.

“We would use the sell-off as a buying opportunity for builders that generate 50% or more of annual sales from move-up and active adult buyers since those buyers tend to be less rate-sensitive than entry-level buyers,” Jay McCanless, senior vice president of equity research, wrote in a note to clients.

The latest policy moves from the administration have brought uncertainty to the market, affecting various sectors, including housing. But builders like Toll Brothers (TOL), Taylor Morrison (TMHC), PulteGroup (PHM), and M/I Homes (MHO) may be positioned to weather the storm as these builders target “move-up” and “active adult” segments, a buyer group that tends to be more resilient in a high interest rate environment.

Mortgage rates have remained volatile this week, with some measures showing rates approaching 7%. While Trump has paused new tariffs on some trading partners, China’s levies remain very high, which continues to weigh down market sentiment.

Shares of Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL), D.R. Horton, Inc. (DHI), and Lennar Corporation (LEN) were mixed during Monday’s trading, with Toll down 0.8%, Lennar off by 0.1%, and D.R. Horton up 0.4%.

Auto stocks rose on Monday after President Trump told reporters he’s considering exemptions related to imported cars and parts to give manufacturers more time to set up shop in the US.

“I’m looking at something to help car companies with it,” Trump said. “They’re switching to parts that were made in Canada, Mexico, and other places, and they need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here.”

Shares of GM (GM), Ford (F), and Stellantis (STLA), the parent company of Chrysler, all turned higher following the remarks.

The market rally on Monday faded by midday as the Nasdaq (^IXIC) erased almost a 2% gain to dip below the flat line.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) also trimmed gains, along with the S&P 500 (^GSPC). Some of the “Magnificent Seven” stocks, which had opened in the green, turned red.

Meanwhile Apple (AAPL) pared gains of as much as 6%. By 12:10 p.m. ET, the stock was up only 2%.

Amid ballooning tariff uncertainty, Wall Street isn’t expecting to learn much about the 2025 outlook for American corporations during the current financial reporting period. Some companies have already pulled guidance for this year, and there’s a looming question of how accurate any given guidance will end up being anyway as the tariff rate on various countries has proven to be a moving target.

But DataTrek co-founder Nicholas Colas argued in a research note on Monday that the amount with which S&P 500 (^GSPC) companies top earnings expectations this quarter will still be an insightful metric to gauge where in the cycle the stock market sits.

Colas’s work shows that, on average, S&P 500 companies beat expectations by 6% in bull markets. As the chart below shows, the average beat tumbled in the recent 2022 bear market, hitting a five-year low of 1.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“As much as 2025 earnings guidance (or, perhaps, lack thereof) will be important during the upcoming US Q1 financial reporting season, reported results will also provide useful information about underlying corporate profitability and management confidence,” Colas wrote. “The ‘tell’ will be by how much companies beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations.”

Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal reports:

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Apple (AAPL) shares gained as much as 5% on Monday as Wall Street viewed the iPhone maker a major winner of exemptions on tariffs announced by the Trump administration over the weekend.

“The Trump administration gives AAPL a lifeline,” said Angelo Zino, vice president and senior equity analyst at CFRA Research. “It also provides a huge sigh of relief for US consumers who feared a significant increase in costs.”

In a big win for the technology sector, the White House carved out reciprocal tariff exemptions on smartphones, computers, memory chips, tablets/smartwatches, chip equipment, and other electronics.

“AAPL is clearly the biggest winner across the Technology space, avoiding a worst case scenario,” said Zino.

Apple shares are still down 15% year to date. The stock has been volatile since President Trump’s reciprocal tariff announcement on April 2. Shares subsequently climbed higher after Trump announced a 90-day pause on many countries, but increased levies on China.

Analysts had warned of significantly higher-priced iPhones if tariffs on China remained in place. Despite the exemption, CFRA’s Zino says Apple must continue to think about diversifying its manufacturing out of China.

“We think AAPL will look to potentially double its India iPhone capacity over the next two to three years to help mitigate future China/U.S. tensions,” said Zino.

Tech led market gains on Monday after it was revealed over the weekend that the US had excluded smartphones, computers, and other consumer electronics from tariffs.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose as 1.5 %, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) jumped 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained over 500 points.

Apple (AAPL) rose more than 5% as the iPhone maker is a top beneficiary of tariff exemptions. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) and the rest of the ‘Mag 7’ stocks also gained.

Nvidia (NVDA) announced on Monday it is “working with its manufacturing partners to design and build factories that, for the first time, will produce NVIDIA AI supercomputers entirely in the US.”

“Together with leading manufacturing partners, the company has commissioned more than a million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test NVIDIA Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas,” said Nvidia in a blog post on Monday.

The company said NVIDIA Blackwell chips have started production at TSMC’s chip plants in Phoenix, Arizona.

“NVIDIA is building supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas, with Foxconn in Houston and with Wistron in Dallas. Mass production at both plants is expected to ramp up in the next 12-15 months,” said the post.

Share of the AI giant rose in pre-market as the overall market gained

Economic data: New York Fed one-year inflation expectations (March)

Earnings: Goldman Sachs (GS), FirstBank (FBK), MT&T Bank (MTB), Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed over the weekend and early this morning:

Trump team sows confusion over electronics tariffs as chip levies loom

Trump has tariffs, taxes, and the debt ceiling on a collision course for this summer

Earnings in focus as markets navigate tariff uncertainty

The secrets to a successful retirement? Planning, spending, and social connections.

Apple takes top spot for Q1 smartphone sales

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Apple, Nvidia stocks climb as tariff threat eases — for now

Trump warns chip tariffs coming within a week after brief reprieve

The dollar (DX=F) fell to a six-month low as uncertainty over the Trump administration’s shifting tariff stance raised fears that investors could start pulling back from US assets.

Bloomberg News reports:

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Apple (AAPL) stock moved higher in premarket trading on Monday after the US granted temporary tariff exemptions on smartphones, computers, and other electronics. The move also lifted European tech stocks, with chipmakers like ASM International (ASM.AS), Infineon (IFX.DE), and ASML (ASML) — all heavily exposed to the US gaining.

These firms supply key components for consumer electronics, and companies such as ASML (ASML), which make chipmaking equipment, are now excluded from Trump’s 10% baseline import duties.

Uncertainty still runs high as US President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that he plans to introduce tariffs on imported semiconductors and the entire supply chain within the coming week.