US stock markets opened higher on Monday after the White House announced that imports of Chinese-made smartphones and some other electronics devices would be exempted from tariffs. The rollback, issued early on Saturday, may end up being short-lived after President Donald Trump said these goods were simply being moved into a different tariff group or “bucket”. The exemption – temporary or not – sent shares higher in Europe, with the UK’s FTSE 100 rising by 2.2% while leading indexes in France and Germany both climbed. Apple’s share price rose sharply since as much as 80% of its iPhones intended for sale in the US are made in China. Most imports from China to the US had faced a levy of 145% under Trump’s new trade regime. Beijing responded with its own 125% tariffs on American products coming into China. The Trump administration is expected to announce tariffs on semiconductors on Monday, and smartphones, computers and other electronic devices exempted will fall into this category. The technology-heavy Nasdaq index rose by 2% in the first few minutes of trading on Monday. The S&P 500 added 1.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9%. Apple’s share price rose by 2.9% while chip maker Nvidia was up by 1.2%. Despite the partial recovery on Monday’s opening, global stock markets are still lower than before Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement on 2 April. Many US and European indexes suffered historic drops followed by record rises after Trump suspended many tariffs for 90 days. However, the gains have not reversed the losses. The S&P 500 index is 3.8% down over the last month while the FTSE 100 is 5.7% down, the German Dax is 8.8% down, and the French Cac 40 is 9.3% down. “It looks like the tech exemption provided some relief, but these rebounds can be temporary,” Sree Kochugovindan, a senior economist at aberdeen group, told the BBC. “There is still risk of more volatility given the lack of clarity during this 90-day tariff pause,” she said. Meanwhile, the value of the US dollar continued to fall on Monday – down 0.7% against the British pound, having dropped 2.7% against the pound since Thursday. The bond market appeared stable on Monday, with a key interest rate on US government debt down to 4.4%. The rate spiked last Wednesday as investors worried about a possible recession, and sold US government bonds, which are usually seen as a safe investment.
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