Upbeat on Tariff Deals, Stock Market Surges

After days of huge declines, the stock market opened on a decidedly different note on Tuesday:

• The Dow rose more than 1,300 points, or 3.4%.
• The S&P 500 rose more than 160 points, or 3.2%.
• The tech-focused Nasdaq rose more than 550 points, or 3.5%

• The upturn came as the White House continued to signal some wiggle room on President Trump's new tariffs, which go into effect at midnight unless things change. Treasury chief Scott Bessent told CNBC that about 70 nations had reached out to the US to negotiate. "If they come to the table with solid proposals, I think we can end up with some good deals," Bessent said. "And part of the calculus of that may be that some part of the tariffs stay on."
• Echoing that, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had a "great call" with the leader of South Korea and said some kind of deal looked likely.
• Trump also said China "wants to make a deal, badly, but they don't know how to get it started," adding: "We are waiting for their call. It will happen!" Bessent made a point to single out China for its aggressive retaliation to the tariffs, calling it a "big mistake." Beijing, he asserted, was playing with a weak hand—"a pair of twos."
• Other friction is far from over: The European Union was working on its own retaliatory response, notes the Wall Street Journal. It's expected to be unveiled next week.

(More stock market stories.)