Global stock markets rallied Monday after the US announced that key consumer electronics will be temporarily excluded from President Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index led regional gains, jumping 2.29%. The Hang Seng Tech Index also rose 2.2% at the open.
On the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.76%, while the Shenzhen Component Index added 0.5%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.5%, and the broader Topix Index gained nearly 0.9%.
South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.95%, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.34% higher.
Taiwan’s Taiex Index was the exception, slipping 0.08%.
European markets opened strongly as well. The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 1.8%. Germany’s DAX gained more than 2%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 1.9%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.95%.
US futures followed suit. As of Monday morning, Dow Jones futures were up 0.71%, S&P 500 futures rose 1.19%, and Nasdaq futures jumped 1.57%.
The rally came after a Friday night bulletin from US Customs and Border Protection announced temporary tariff exclusions for smartphones, computers, flat-panel TV displays, memory chips, and other semiconductor-based devices.
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The move offered temporary relief to tech companies alarmed by Trump’s proposed 145% tariffs on all Chinese goods.
But the administration was quick to emphasize that the exemptions were not permanent.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC News that semiconductors from China will face a “special-focus type of tariff.”
Trump echoed this in a Truth Social post Sunday, writing there “was no Tariff ‘exemption’ announced on Friday” and that semiconductor tariffs would “just be moving to a different Tariff ‘bucket.’”
“NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook’ for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!” Trump posted.
“We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations,” he added.
When asked Saturday night for clarification on exemptions, Trump said, “I’ll give you that answer on Monday. We’ll be very specific on Monday.”
“We’re taking in a lot of money. As a country, we’re taking in a lot of money,” he added.
(ABC News)
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