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US stocks surged on Tuesday, buoyed by improved prospects for a US-EU trade agreement after President Trump delayed the implementation fo 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union.
Investor sentiment also benefited from a rebound in consumer confidence, which rose in May following five consecutive months of decline, coinciding with the administration’s easing of its toughest tariff threats.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped about 1.5%, or over 600 points, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) shot up 1.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the averages to the upside, rising around 2.3%.
After Monday's Memorial Day market closure, stocks have mounted a furious comeback from Friday's losses as investors welcomed signs of thawing in frosty US-EU trade relations. Another boost came from a slide in Treasury yields and a stronger dollar (DX=F), credited to signs that Japan will cut back on bond sales after a market rout.
The EU on Monday agreed to speed up tariff talks with the US, easing concerns about a trans-Atlantic trade war. The move followed Trump’s announcement on Sunday that the US would delay imposing a stepped-up 50% tariff on all EU products from June 1 until July 9, to allow time for negotiations.
Trump's tariffs: Read the latest here
Meanwhile, US Treasurys led a drop in global bond yields amid relief that Japan looks set to calm recent bond-market tumult that drove long-term government debt rates to their highest levels in decades. The 30-year Treasury yield (^TYX) retreated Tuesday to around 4.96%.
Investors are now turning their attention to a busy week of economic data. Market watchers will also hear from Federal Reserve officials who are expected to hold rates steady in line with previous direction. Trump's contentious tax bill is also on the docket, having narrowly made it through the US House last week.
Nvidia (NVDA) shares popped after a report of a lower-cost chip for China, with the AI leader set to take the spotlight on Wednesday with the quarter's most anticipated earnings results. Okta (OKTA), Macy’s (M), and Costco (COST) are also set to report this week.
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Tesla stock rises 6% as Elon Musk commits more time to the company
Tesla (TSLA) stock jumped around 6% in afternoon trading on Tuesday after Elon Musk announced he'll be spending more time at the EV maker and his other businesses.
The stock, which was a top trending ticker on Yahoo Finance, also gained momentum following President Trump's delay of a 50% tariff on the European Union, easing fears of a trade conflict. Together, these updates drove Tesla’s shares to the upside and supported overall positive sentiment in the market.
"Back to spending 24/7 at work and sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms,” Musk said in part following an X outage. He added he "must be super focused on 𝕏/xAI and Tesla (plus Starship launch next week), as we have critical technologies rolling out."
The news comes as Tesla EV registrations (a proxy for sales) in Europe fell a whopping 49% in April compared to a year ago, to 14,228. Meanwhile, overall EV registrations in the region (which includes the UK and the European Free Trade Association) rose 34.1% in April, with overall registrations down 0.3%.
How consumers are changing their spending habits as tariff uncertainty bites
Consumer confidence surprisingly rebounded in May as respondents digested the tariff pause between the US and China.
But in a special question from The Conference Board in this month's survey, consumers did express some changes to their spending habits in the past several weeks. Consumers indicated they're saving for future expenses, dipping more into their savings right now than before and postponing some major purchases.
These reactions weren't enough to weigh on the overall impact index, but whether or not these responses actually lead to slower consumer spending will remain key to the economic narrative as investors wait to see if heightened tariffs eventually weigh on economic activity.
Wall Street braces for more bond market turbulence
Wall Street is keeping a close eye on the bond market after long-term Treasury yields spiked last week as investors reassessed the US fiscal outlook in light of President Trump's proposed tax legislation.
The 30-year Treasury yield (^TYX) surged as high as 5.15% last week, hovering near its highest level since 2007. Yields pulled back slightly in early Tuesday trading, with the 30-year yield dipping back below 5% following reports that Japan's central bank may scale back its own bond issuance.
Still, investor anxiety remains elevated.
While ballooning deficits have long been a concern, the current wave of unease reflects a collision of both new and familiar threats, with fiscal fears, stubborn inflation, and political uncertainty top of mind. At the center of it all is Trump's newly advanced tax bill, which cleared the House last week and is now headed to the Senate.
"We're concerned about the 10-year and the 30-year in particular as it pertains to the fiscal position, and that makes it much more difficult to forecast," Eric Winograd, chief economist at AllianceBernstein, told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday.
Historically, Treasury yields have followed the business cycle and expectations for Fed policy. But with the "big beautiful bill" projected to add $4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, fiscal risk has become a key driver of long-term rates.
The legislation proposes sweeping cuts to individual and corporate tax rates but lacks swift and substantial spending cuts, deepening investor concerns over the US's already fragile fiscal situation.
"There's no evidence of fiscal restraint," Winograd said. "If anything, we're seeing additional fiscal deterioration. As a result, we expect the yield curve to steepen, and that longer-dated yields [will] remain sticky."
Trump Media to raise $2.5 billion to buy bitcoin
Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) is doubling down on cryptocurrency, unveiling plans Tuesday to create what it claims will be one of the largest bitcoin treasuries held by any public company.
The initiative is backed by a $2.5 billion private funding round, with commitments from roughly 50 institutional investors, according to a company press release. The deal includes $1.5 billion in Trump Media common stock and $1 billion in convertible senior secured notes, set to close on or around May 29.
Once finalized, the move will place bitcoin directly on Trump Media’s balance sheet, alongside existing cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaling $759 million as of the end of Q1 2025.
Shares of Trump Media, which are majority owned by President Trump, fell over 7% in early trading following the announcement. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), meanwhile, is hovering near record highs, trading around $110,000 per coin.
Trump Media, the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, streaming service Truth+, and fintech brand Truth.Fi, said the bitcoin play is part of a broader strategy to integrate digital assets across its media and financial ecosystem.
Consumer confidence rebounds in May
After five straight months of declines, consumer confidence rebounded in May as President Trump peeled back his most aggressive stances on tariffs.
The latest index reading from the Conference Board was 98 in May, well above the 85.7 seen in April and the 87.1 economists had expected. The expectations index surged off its 13-year low seen in April, reaching 72.8 in May, far above the 55.4 seen the month prior.
The cutoff date for preliminary results was May 19, meaning any opinions swayed by the US-China tariff delay were likely factored in, but the latest tariff back and forth with the European Union and Apple (AAPL) wouldn't have been accounted for.
"The rebound was already visible before the May 12 US-China trade deal but gained momentum afterwards," Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist of global Indicators at the Conference Board, wrote in the release. "The monthly improvement was largely driven by consumer expectations as all three components of the Expectations Index — business conditions, employment prospects, and future income —rose from their April lows. Consumers were less pessimistic about business conditions and job availability over the next six months and regained optimism about future income prospects."
US stocks jump on EU trade optimism
US stocks jumped higher to kick off the shortened holiday trading week, eyeing a comeback from Friday's losses on the heels of brighter prospects for an EU-US trade deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) jumped about 1%, or over 400 points, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) shot up 1.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the averages to the upside, rising around 1.6%.
Trending tickers in premarket trading: Nvidia, Tesla, Palantir, PDD Holdings
The major stock indexes broadly rose on Tuesday ahead of the opening bell, and with them, individual movers trending on the Yahoo Finance platform:
Nvidia (NVDA) stock gained 2.5% as the AI chip giant's earnings come into focus. Nvidia will report Q1 earnings after the bell on Wednesday, offering a crucial report for AI investors.
Tesla (TSLA) sales declined in Europe, as my colleague Karen Friar detailed below. But the stock was up 2.3% in premarket trading amid a broad rally on accelerated EU-US trade talks.
Palantir (PLTR) stock added 3% as part of the broader rally on Tuesday. Optimism over artificial intelligence and Palantir's positioning for government contracts has lifted shares more than 63% year to date.
PDD Holdings (PDD) stock tumbled more than 17% after the Temu parent company missed earnings expectations. First quarter profits at the Chinese e-commerce firm fell 47% as PDD battled intensifying competition and tariffs.
Investors with $7 trillion cash on the sidelines await Nvidia
The spotlight on Nvidia (NVDA) is intensifying in the countdown to the AI bellwether's quarterly results after the close on Wednesday.
Its stock is likely to gain or lose as much as 7.4% the day after the AI chipmaker reports quarterly earnings results, options trades suggest.
Bloomberg reports:
Informatica stock jumps on report of Salesforce takeover
Salesforce (CRM) is nearing an $8 billion deal for data management software company Informatica (INFA), the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Informatica stock jumped over 6% while Salesforce stock rose 1.4% on reports that Salesforce will pay $25 per share for the software company.
According to Reuters:
Nvidia stock rises on eve of earnings report
Nvidia shares popped before the bell on Tuesday, as investors assessed a report that a lower-cost AI chip for China is on its way.
The new Blackwell GPU is priced significantly lower than its H20 chip, which faced US export restrictions, Reuters reported. It could go into production as early as June.
Wall Street has been weighing the potential hit of the China export curbs on Nvidia's quarterly results, with just one day to go before their release.
Reuters reports:
Tesla's sales in Europe plunge by half in April
Tesla's (TSLA) sales in Europe fell 49% in April, even as sales of battery EVs overall jumped in the region, Reuters reports.
That marks the fourth straight month of sales declines for Tesla, amid protests over CEO Elon Musk's political activities. A lackluster reception for the revamped Model Y and fierce competition from European and Chinese rivals also played a part.
Tesla's market share in Europe fell last month to just 0.7%, comparee with 1.3% a year ago, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed.
Despite the news, Tesla's shares rose in premarket, up over 2% as US stocks more broadly made gains.
Good morning. Here's what's happening today.
Treasury yields slide as Japan looks to restore calm to its bond market
US Treasurys are rising alongside a rally in bonds worldwide amid signs that Japan is set to act to stabilize its bond market.
Yields on 30-year Treasurys (^TYX) fell as much as nine basis points to 4.95%, while benchmark 10-year yields (^TNX) dropped over four basis points to 4.47%. (Yields move inversely to bond prices.)
Japan is looking at issuing fewer superlong-dated bonds in the wake of recent sharp rises in yields for the notes, Reuters reported.
Bloomberg also reports:
Asia-Pacific markets dip as investors weigh US tariff delay, BOJ signals rate hike
Asia-Pacific markets mostly declined Tuesday as investors digested the implications of US President Donald Trump's decision to defer 50% tariffs on European Union imports, sparking fresh concerns about the global trade outlook.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) slipped 0.2% to 37,451.60, while the broader Topix index was flat. The decline followed comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, who signaled that interest rate hikes could be on the horizon due to rising inflation.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 (83188.HK) dipped 0.6% despite data showing industrial profits rose 1.4% in April, up from 0.8% in March.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index (^HSI) fell 0.2%.
South Korea's Kospi (^KS11) dropped 0.6%, pulling back from a recent three-month high.
Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO) rose 0.3%.
Investors remain cautious as global central banks balance inflation pressures with geopolitical uncertainty and trade volatility.
Gold slips as EU-UK trade talks lower demand
Gold (GC=F) has continued to pull back after a remarkable year-to-date run. After tariff uncertainty shook riskier assets, burgeoning trade talks between the EU and the US have cut into the demand for haven commodities.
Bloomberg reports:
