Stock Futures Surge as Trump Softens Tone on China

Stock futures rallied Monday after major indexes tanked to end last week, as President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post over the weekend that “it will all be fine” with China. 

On Friday, Trump threatened “massive” tariffs on China, causing indexes to reverse early gains that saw the Nasdaq hit a fresh record high and end sharply lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 3.6%, or 820 points, the benchmark S&P 500 sank 2.7%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9%, or 878 points.

All three indexes posted weekly declines of at least 2.4%, and after the stock market closed for the day, Trump said he would impose an additional 100% tariff on goods from China starting Nov. 1.

However, Trump wrote yesterday, “Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”

Markets responded positively to the news. Futures associated with the Nasdaq jumped 1.8%, while those affiliated with the S&P 500 and Dow were up 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.

Gold futures soared 2.4% to a record near $4,100 an ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 1.1% to $59.50 a barrel. Bitcoin was at around $114,500 after trading below $107,000 over the weekend. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was 0.3% higher at 99.25.

The bond market is closed on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday (observed in some places as Indigenous Peoples Day). The Federal Reserve system, major financial institutions, and many federal, state, and local government offices also are closed on Monday.

In corporate news, shares of U.S. chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Nvidia (NVDA), and ON Semiconductor (ON) jumped about 4.2%, 3.4%, and 4.6%, respectively, in premarket trade following Trump’s Truth Social post about China on Sunday.

Shares of cryptocurrency-tied firms Robinhood Markets (HOOD), MARA Holdings (MARA), and Coinbase Global (COIN) were up a respective 4%, 3.3%, and 2% as Bitcoin rose from weekend lows.

Elsewhere, shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), which releases third-quarter results tomorrow, were up about 1.4% after the world’s biggest bank said it was investing $10 billion into sectors critical for national security, and shares of USA Rare Earth (USAR) and MP Materials (MP) continued their recent ascent since China announced it was tightening rare-earths exports, popping a respective 17% and 10% before the bell.