The US market today rose for the third 3rd straight session, bouncing back after a steep drop on April 10, with tech stocks leading the charge. Over this period, the S&P 500 jumped 2.8%, the Dow Jones gained 2.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 3.2%, the strongest of the three, according to Google Finance.
The turnaround came after a surprise move by US President Trump to exclude key tech products like smartphones, semiconductors, and computers from his latest round of “reciprocal” tariffs. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection released updated guidance on Friday, easing investor concerns and sparking a rally in big tech names that had been under pressure last week.
Let's deep dive to understand the roller-coaster ride that US stocks saw over the past few trading sessions following Donald Trump's tariff swings.
US stock market news: The wild swing in tech, auto stocks
With the White House signaling a tariff reprieve on key consumer electronics, tech stocks rebounded. Apple stock extended its two-day rally taking the company's market value to over $3 trillion yet again, according to CompaniesMarketCap data as of April 14.
The trigger? A tariff exemption on key electronics like smartphones and chips, a big win for Apple Inc, which relies heavily on China for manufacturing. About 90% of iPhones are assembled in China, and roughly 80% of Apple’s production happens there.
While Apple Inc has started shifting some output to India and Vietnam, China remains its core base. Without the exemption, analysts warned that a $1,199 iPhone 16 Pro Max could’ve jumped to nearly $2,000 if made in China.
Nvidia led chip stock gains after a surprise White House U-turn on export restrictions. According to NPR, the Trump administration backed off plans to block Nvidia’s H20 chip sales to China, just days after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
The decision lifted a major overhang on the stock as losing access to the Chinese market would've been a blow given that it has been a key growth driver for Nvidia’s AI server chips, especially with the rise of platforms like DeepSeek. Many buyers had rushed to stock up ahead of a possible ban, but overall demand remains strong. With that risk now on pause, Nvidia shares have rallied.
Carmakers rallied as Trump floated exceptions for auto parts facing 25% US levies. Stocks such as Tesla, Ford Motor, General Motors, Chrysler parent Stellantis, Rivian Automotive, Toyota Motor, Honda Motor, Lucid Group rose significantly following the announcement.
Tesla, whose market cap fell to $709 billion, saw its market cap recover to $806 billion, according to Macrotrends data. Despite the slight recovery, Tesla m-cap is 43.24% below its all-time high m-cap of $1.42T, hit last year in December, as per CompaniesMarketCap data.
Donald Trump’s tariff flip-flop
The wild swing in the US markets over the past two weeks has been on account of Donald Trump's flip flop over tariffs. Here's a timeline of the US-China tariff battle.
| Date | Event |
| Feb 1, 2025 | Trump signs executive order to impose 10% tariffs on China, 25% on Mexico and Canada |
| Feb 3, 2025 | Trump announces 30-day pause on 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada |
| Feb 4, 2025 | 10% tariffs on all Chinese imports come into effect |
| Feb 4, 2025 | China announces 15% tariffs on US coal and LNG, and 10% on crude oil, agricultural machinery, cars (effective Feb 10) |
| Feb 10, 2025 | Trump announces 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports |
| Feb 13, 2025 | Trump announces investigation into "reciprocal" tariffs on other nations |
| Mar 4, 2025 | Trump levies additional 10% tariff on China and 25% on Mexico and Canada (some exceptions) |
| Mar 4, 2025 | China announces 10–15% tariffs on US agricultural products (effective March 10) |
| Mar 12, 2025 | 25% steel and aluminum tariffs take effect (China effectively pays ~45%) |
| Mar 26, 2025 | Trump announces 25% tariffs on automobiles (Apr 3) and on auto parts (by May 3) |
| Apr 2, 2025 | Trump announces "reciprocal" tariffs; China faces 34%, and 10% tariff applies to all imports (exempting Mexico and Canada) |
| Apr 3, 2025 | 25% tariffs on cars come into effect |
| Apr 4, 2025 | China announces 34% tariffs on US goods (effective Apr 10) |
| Apr 5, 2025 | 10% universal US tariffs go into effect, putting China’s effective rate at 30% |
| Apr 7, 2025 | Trump threatens an additional 50% tariff if China doesn’t back down |
| Apr 9, 2025 | Trump hits China with 84% levy across all imports, raising the total to 104% |
| Apr 9, 2025 | China retaliates with 84% tariffs on US goods |
| Apr 9, 2025 | Trump raises tariffs to at least 145% on Chinese imports, effective immediately |
| Apr 9, 2025 | Trump announces 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs (excluding China); 10% universal tariff remains |
| Apr 11, 2025 | China increases retaliatory tariffs on US imports to 125% |
| Apr 12, 2025 | Trump exempts smartphones, computers, and electronics from reciprocal tariffs |
| Apr 14, 2025 | Trump considers halting auto tariffs temporarily to give carmakers time to adjust supply chains |
Source: White House Annex, Bloomberg
Where are US markets headed next?
It is not clear how long the exemption will last or whether separate tariffs will be negotiated on the specific products. For now, however, markets have welcomed the temporary relief, especially in sectors heavily reliant on Chinese manufacturing and exports like tech and automotive.
The bigger question remains: will this be a short-term political maneuver, or the beginning of a more structured trade policy reset? With volatility driven largely by Trump’s unpredictable tariff pivots, investors may need to brace for more policy swings.
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