Stocks closed higher Thursday as Wall Street cheered encouraging tariff news. Indeed, today's reports of a trade deal between the U.S. and the U.K. boosted expectations ahead of this weekend's negotiations with China.
Shortly before lunchtime, President Donald Trump said that the United States has reached a trade agreement with the United Kingdom that "opens up a tremendous market for us."
The deal includes lowered tariffs on U.K. auto imports, to 10% from 25%, and a commitment on the part of Britain to buy more U.S. goods.
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This is the first trade agreement the Trump administration has reached with another country, although President Trump said earlier that "everyone wants a deal."
"While yesterday's [Fed meeting] was on the hawkish side, this morning's U.K. agreement helped improve sentiment as it relates to resolving other conflicts," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.
It is also allowing "investors to focus on the short-term positives of the Trump policy mix, which include lighter taxation, milder regulations, and lower energy costs."
The trade deal sparked a positive session for stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.6% to 41,368, the S&P 500 jumping 0.6% to 5,663, and the Nasdaq Composite adding 1.1% to 17,928.
And Trump sees even more upside. He encouraged folks to "buy stocks now" ahead of trade talks with China. "Now it's really going to rally," Trump said.
Boeing boosts industrial stocks
Industrial stocks helped to lead the way higher today, thanks to a big boost from Boeing (BA). The blue chip stock rose 3.3% after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said an unnamed British airline will buy $10 billion of Boeing aircraft.
In return, the U.S. will allow U.K.-based Rolls-Royce to import its jet engines and parts tariff-free.
BA has been booming in recent weeks and is now up 40% since its early April lows. But Argus Research analyst Kristina Ruggeri isn't ready to sound the all-clear just yet.
She maintains a Hold recommendation on the Dow Jones stock, saying the company "faces numerous internal and external challenges including inflation, supply chain issues, recovery from a union strike, and airplane quality concerns."
Ruggeri believes these headwinds will "put pressure on revenue and earnings for the foreseeable future."
Nvidia, AMD gain after Trump scraps AI chip restrictions
Tech stocks also outperformed after the Trump administration said it scrapped President Joe Biden's U.S. chip export restrictions that were set to go into effect next Thursday, May 15.
The "AI diffusion rule" would have created tiered levels that would allow for a certain number of U.S. chip exports to individual countries.
"The Biden AI rule is overly complex, overly bureaucratic, and would stymie American innovation," said a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce in a statement. "We will be replacing it with a much simpler rule that unleashes American innovation and ensures American AI dominance."
The rule was criticized by AI chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA, +0.3%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, +1.3%), and both stocks gained on today's news.
Bitcoin reclaims a key level
Underscoring Thursday's risk-on session was a big rally in bitcoin. The cryptocurrency rose 5.5% to $101,557, reclaiming its footing atop the psychologically significant $100,000 level. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day. Prices here are as of 4 pm Eastern Standard Time.)
Crypto-focused stock Coinbase Global (COIN, +5.1%), meanwhile, got a halo lift from bitcoin, and enjoyed an additional boost on news it will acquire Dubai-based crypto options exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion in cash and stock.
Coinbase will stay in the news, with the crypto exchange operator set to disclose its first-quarter results after Thursday's close.
"Retail trading volumes in the cryptocurrency market held up in the first quarter of 2025 despite [the] market correction," wrote Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani in an April 22 note. "So long as bitcoin and retail volumes hold up, COIN should still have a decent 2025."
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