US stocks surge as White House signals softer touch on tariffs

US stocks surged as the White House signaled that tariffs planned to go into effect next week may not be as onerous as investors feared.

The S&P 500 rose 1.8%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 2.2%, and the Russell 2000 jumped 2.5%.

While most S&P 500 stocks advanced, momentum stocks were the big drivers of upside on Monday. Tesla posted a double-digit gain to lead all S&P 500 stocks, while AI infrastructure and energy plays like Monolithic Power Systems and Arista Networks were also near the top of the day’s leaderboard. Airline stocks, led by United Airlines, were also among the largest gainers amid this presumptive lighter touch on tariffs.

The consumer discretionary sector ETF had its best day since the session following the US election; tech, industrials, financials, and communication services also gained more than 1%. Utilities was the lone sector ETF to go negative on the day.

Shares of Robinhood made it four straight days in the green as Morgan Stanley highlighted a corporate event this week as a key catalyst for the company.

(Sherwood Media is an editorially independent subsidiary of Robinhood Markets Inc.)

IBM rose about 2% after being added to Wedbush’s Best Ideas list.

Mining giant Freeport-McMoRan jumped amid a flurry of bullish options bets targeting a significant near-term rally.

Pinterest was also the beneficiary of Wall Street’s enhanced confidence in the company as shares were upgraded by Guggenheim and named Bank of America’s top pick among mid-cap internet and e-commerce stocks.

GameStop also gained ahead of earnings tomorrow, with options positioning leaning very bullish due to a seeming dearth of bears.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin dipped as Bank of America took a hatchet to its price target and downgraded the shares after the defense firm was beat out by Boeing for an Air Force contract.