Wall Street takes back some of Friday's losses as Trump softens tone on China trade talks

Gains by chipmakers pushed Wall Street significantly higher Monday as trade tensions between China and the U.S. appeared to soften over the weekend.

All major stock indexes had added back a significant portion of what they lost Friday, with the S&P 500 ending the day up 1.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.2%.

On Monday, Beijing urged U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw a threat he made Friday to crank tariffs on Chinese-made goods higher after China placed stricter restrictions on exports of rare earths, which are materials critical for manufacturing everything from consumer electronics to jet engines.

The potential for more friction between the world’s two biggest economies rattled markets, giving U.S. shares their worst day since April. But over the weekend, Trump adopted a more conciliatory stance, easing investors’ jitters.

While Trump did not withdraw his threat, he struck a more moderate tone, saying in a Truth Social post Sunday, “The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!”

“Markets woke up Monday to the smell of détente — that familiar scent of risk-on optimism that only comes after a weekend of mutual saber-rattling followed by a wink and a handshake from Washington,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

“But let’s be clear: this isn’t détente, it’s negotiation theatre,” he said.

Chipmakers were some of the biggest gainers in Monday trading, with Micron jumping 6.2%. Broadcom rose 9.9%, and Nvidia gained 2.8%.

Barring a breakthrough in the U.S. government shutdown, the biggest news of the week will come Tuesday, when U.S. banks kick off earnings season by releasing their most recent quarterly financial results. United Airlines and Johnson & Johnson also report this week.

Asian shares initially tumbled but regained some of their early losses.

China reported its global exports rose 8.3% in September from a year earlier, the strongest growth in six months and further evidence that its manufacturers are shifting sales from the U.S. to other markets.

However, exports to the U.S. tumbled 27% year-on-year last month, customs data showed. That was a slight improvement from a 33% drop in August, but the sixth straight month of double-digit declines.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng sank 1.5% to 25,889.48, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.2% lower to 3,889.50.

South Korea’s Kospi gave up 0.7% to 3,584.55 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.8% to 8,882.80.

Taiwan’s Taiex shed 1.4% and India’s Sensex was down 0.2%.

Markets in Tokyo were closed for a holiday.

Germany’s DAX and the CAC 40 in Paris each rose 0.4% while Britain’s FTSE 100 was unchanged.