Shares of Apple Inc., Nvidia Corp. and Microsoft Corp. jumped more than 8% today after President Donald Trump announced plans to lower tariffs temporarily on all countries except China.

The three companies’ trading performance mirrored a broader rally in U.S. stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped about 11%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 2,000 points in its biggest gain since 2020. The S&P 500 is likewise on track for its largest one-day increase in five years.

All three indices experienced significant declines in recent days amid investor concerns about the U.S. tariffs. International stocks dropped as well. 

In a post on his social network Truth Social, Trump wrote that tariffs on most countries will be lowered to 10% for 90 days. The exception is China, on which previously announced duties will be increased to 125%. Trump wrote that the move comes after representatives of more than 75 countries contacted U.S. officials to negotiate new trade terms.

“I have authorized a 90 day PAUSE, and a substantially lowered Reciprocal Tariff during this period, of 10%, also effective immediately,” Trump wrote.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified that the reprieve won’t apply to sector-specific tariffs. “I think now the market understands that everything they saw last Wednesday was a ceiling, and now we have a 10% temporary floor,” he added during a press briefing at the White House. 

Today’s stock market rally ends a selloff that saw the S&P 500 lose 12% in just four trading days. The market chaos began after the Trump administration started applying tariffs to imports from more than 180 countries, including the largest U.S. trading partners.

After the Trump administration applied a 34% tariff to Chinese imports, China responded by imposing 34% duties on U.S. products. Trump then raised the tariffs by another 50% for a total of 104%. China responded with an identical increase. 

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. exported $143.5 billion of goods to China last year. The value of imports reached $438.9 billion.

The tariff pause comes after the original duty policy announced by Trump last week drew a cool reception from business leaders and investors. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said he believes those original duties could have “probably” caused a recession. Prior the tariff suspension, Delta Air Lines Inc. CEO Ed Bastian said Trump’s trade policy was the “wrong approach” while billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller stated he did “not support tariffs exceeding 10%.”

Trump’s announcement of the reciprocal tariffs last week drew an unusual reaction in the bond market. Yields, the returns that investors earn on their bonds, usually decrease during stock market selloffs. Yet yields increased earlier this week until a successful auction of $39 billion in 10-year Treasurys eased investor concerns. 

Bessent stated during today’s press briefing that Trump plans to be “personally involved” in negotiations over the tariffs. “Each one of these is going to be a separate, bespoke negotiation,” Bessent told reporters.

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