US stocks open up amid hopes for tariff deals

ISTANBUL

US stocks opened Tuesday with gains as hopes rose for the US to reach tariff deals with numerous countries.

Last Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of sweeping tariffs on over 180 countries, ranging from 10% to 50%.

Trump posted on social media Tuesday that he had a “great call” with the acting president of South Korea, and that China “also wants to make a deal badly.”

“There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations,” Trump told a Monday press conference.

Trump also said he spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and that Tokyo is sending a “top team to negotiate” tariffs. He said “tough but fair parameters” are being set and urged Japan to buy more American cars, agricultural products, and “many other ‘things’.”

Following these statements, stocks gained after three straight days of losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 1,355.08 points, or 3.57%, to 39,320.68 as of 10.00 am EDT (1400GMT).

The S&P 500 was up 182.8 points, or 3.64%, to 5,250.27. The Nasdaq composite soared 631.46 points, or 4.03%, to 16,225.02.

Tuesday's rally was led by tech stocks. Meta Platforms and Nvidia both saw gains of about 5%.

In addition, Tesla's stock shot up over 6%, and Amazon and Netflix each had gains of over 4%.

The VIX volatility index, also called the "fear index," fell to 36.86.