Major indices rise as tariff concerns ease... Tesla up 12% [New York Stock Exchange Briefing]

Major indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher as concerns about reciprocal tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on the world eased.

On the 24th (local time) on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 597.97 points (1.42%) to 42,583.32, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 100.01 points (1.76%) to 5,767.57, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index jumped 404.54 points (2.27%) to 18,188.59.

Investor sentiment was stimulated as President Trump suggested that some countries might be exempt from tariffs in the reciprocal tariff policy to be announced on the 2nd of next month. President Trump said at a White House briefing, "I could give exemptions to a lot of countries," adding, "It's reciprocal, but we can be nicer than that (the tariffs of the counterpart countries)."

Previously, President Trump had hinted at the possibility of announcing tariffs on automobiles, but the market focused more on the possibility of countries being exempt from reciprocal tariffs. Reports from U.S. media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the Trump administration is discussing postponing the announcement of item-specific tariffs when announcing reciprocal tariffs supported this optimism.

With the easing of trade war concerns, economically sensitive sectors showed strength. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector index, sensitive to the economy, surged 4.07% from the previous trading day, and the Russell 2000 index, composed of small and mid-cap stocks, also rose 2.55% from the previous trading day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, composed of semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) related stocks, surged 3%.

Among major stocks, Tesla, which surged 11.93%, stood out. In addition to the easing of trade war concerns, it was influenced by CEO Elon Musk telling employees not to sell stocks.

Bargain hunting also flowed into large tech stocks that had seen significant declines in recent adjustments, such as Nvidia (3.15%), Meta (3.79%), and Alphabet (2.25%).

Quantum computing-related stocks such as IonQ (17.34%), Rigetti Computing (7.83%), and Quantum Computing (18.4%) also surged due to rebound buying after the Nvidia GTC event.

United Airlines jumped more than 7% on news of cost increases for some programs.

Boeing, selected as the next-generation advanced fighter jet contractor in the U.S., also saw its stock rise more than 1% on the day.

On the other hand, Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense contractor, recorded a decline of over 1% after Bank of America downgraded its investment rating.

MicroStrategy, a software company known for holding the most Bitcoin, announced that it had purchased an additional 6,911 Bitcoins for $584.1 million in cash over the past week, and its stock rose more than 10%.

The economic indicators released on the day were mixed.

According to Standard & Poor's (S&P) Global, the preliminary March services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 54.3, exceeding the market expectation of 50.8. It was also higher than the February figure of 51.0.

On the other hand, the preliminary March manufacturing PMI fell to 49.8. It was below the market expectation of 51.8 and also declined compared to the previous month's final figure of 52.7.

According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch Tool, the probability of the federal funds rate being held steady by the end of June in the federal funds rate futures market rose about 13 percentage points to 35.2% compared to the previous day's close. Instead, the probability of a 25bp cut fell from 67.3% to 59.0%.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX) recorded 17.48, down 1.80 points (9.34%) from the previous session.

Han Kyung-woo, Hankyung.com reporter case@hankyung.com