Wall Street points to gains as global markets rebound on tariff roller coaster

World shares and U.S. futures advanced Tuesday, led by gains in Tokyo where the Nikkei 225 shot up just over 6% as markets settled after the shocks from President Donald Trump ‘s tariff hikes.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported Tuesday that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would lead trade negotiations with the country, which as been buffeted by an escalating trade war kicked off by Trump. Such negotiations are typically led by trade representatives, the Nikkei reported citing unnamed sources, hinting that currency imbalances may also be part of the reported talks.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 1.7% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.1%. Nasdaq futures climbed 1.5%.

Tuesday’s rebound followed a wild day on Wall Street, where stocks careened after Trump threatened to crank his double-digit tariffs higher.

On Tuesday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would “fight to the end” and take unspecified countermeasures against the United States after Trump threatened another 50% tariff on Chinese imports.

Among the early gainers was Levi Strauss, which climbed more than 10% after beating analysts’ profit targets and forecasting a strong 2025, despite the ongoing trade war and tariff threats.

CVS Health climbed more than 8% after the drugstore chain named a new chief financial officer, effective later this month.

Shares of health insurers like Humana, United Health and Elevance rose sharply after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced a 5.06% increase in Medicare payments for next year, which was stronger than expected. Humana, a company with a market capitalization of more than $30 billion, jumped nearly 15%.

Corporate earnings season kicks off this week with Delta Air Lines reporting on Wednesday and major U.S. banks offering up their latest results on Friday. The airline sector. which had been forecasting a strong 2025, has been one of the hardest hit during Trump’s tariff rollout.

Banks report their latest quarterly earnings on Friday, but most of the attention likely will be on their forecasts amid the rising global trade tensions ignited by Trump’s tariffs.

On Thursday, the government posts its latest inflation data, which could play into the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision. Many economists have raised their odds of a U.S. recession because of the tariffs and suggest the Fed may have to step in and cut rates to help spur economic growth.

Trump’s trade war is an attack on the globalization that’s shaped today’s world economy and helped bring down prices but also caused manufacturing jobs to leave for other countries.

He has said he wants to bring factory jobs back to the United States, a process that could take years. Trump also says he wants to narrow trade deficits with other countries, but it’s unclear how much room for negotiation there is on the U.S. side or among its trading partners.

Indexes swung between losses and gains Monday, partly because investors are still hoping negotiations may forestall actual implementation of the stiff duties on all imports.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX gained 1.9%, while the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.7%. Britain’s FTSE 100 shot up 2.5%.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed a smidgen over 6% higher, at 33,012.58.

Hong Kong also recovered some lost ground, but nothing close to the 13.2% dive Monday that gave the Hang Seng its worst day since 1997, during the Asian financial crisis.

The Hang Seng gained 1% to 20,036.03. The Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.4% to 3,140.15 after the government investment fund Central Huijin directed state-owned companies to help support the market with share purchases.

South Korea’s Kospi picked up 0.3% to 2,334.23, while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia climbed 2.3% to 7,510.00.

Markets in Thailand and Indonesia tumbled, however, as they reopened after holidays. Trading was suspended briefly in Jakarta when the JSX index fell more than 9%. It was down 7.6% by midafternoon. Thailand’s SET lost 4.2%.

In Taiwan, the Taiex lost 4%, pulled lower by losses for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., or TSMC, the world’s largest computer chipmaker. Its shares fell 3.8% on Tuesday.

Hurt by worries that a global economy weakened by trade barriers will burn less fuel, the price of a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude oil dipped below $60 on Monday for the first time since 2021. Early Tuesday, it was up 18 cents at $60.88 per barrel.

Brent crude, the international standard, gained 17 cents to $64.38 per barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar fell to 146.90 Japanese yen from 147.85 yen. The euro fell to $1.0931 from $1.0905.

The price of gold rose $53 to about $3,027.00 an ounce.

Bitcoin gained about 6% to $79,550. On Monday it sank below $79,000, down from its record above $100,000 set in January.