Yahoo Finance

Key Takeaways

• The S&P 500 surged 9.5% on Wednesday, April 9, roaring back in an afternoon rally after President Donald Trump temporarily suspended widespread tariffs.

• AMD and other semiconductor companies' shares tore higher, recovering from recent losses driven by tariff concerns.
  

• Delta Air Lines shares took off after the carrier topped quarterly earnings estimates, and shares of rival United Airlines also soared.

Major U.S. equities indexes surged after President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause of "reciprocal" tariffs on imports from U.S. trading partners around the world, less than a day after the levies took effect.

After fluctuating in early trading, the S&P 500 screamed higher following the latest shift in trade policy, ending with a daily gain of 9.5%. The Dow advanced 7.9%, while the Nasdaq rocketed 12.2% higher.

The technology sector outperformed as stocks that had been clobbered by concerns about the impact of extensive tariffs clawed back some of their recent losses. Shares of microcontroller and analog chipmaker Microchip Technology (MCHP) jumped 27.1%, notching the best daily performance of any S&P 500 stock, while shares of power management semiconductor provider Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) popped 23.4% higher.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares, which have garnered significant attention because of the firm's artificial intelligence (AI) chips, surged 23.8%. The push higher for the stock came in spite of a downgrade to "sector weight" from "overweight" by analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets, who cited downside risks to gross margins amid increasing price competition with Intel (INTC).

Delta Air Lines (DAL) lifted the airline industry by reporting better-than-expected sales and profit results for its fiscal first quarter. Although Delta announced plans to cut back on capacity growth in the second half of the year as it navigates the uncertain economic environment, its shares took off following the strong earnings report, gaining 23.4% on Wednesday. Meanwhile, shares of rival carrier United Airlines (UAL) soared 26.1%.

Telsa (TSLA) shares gained 22.7% in the wake of the tariff reprieve. In addition, the research firm Benchmark included the electric vehicle maker's stock among its best investment ideas, noting a more attractive valuation following recent price declines, the potential for a recovery in sales driven by a new vehicle launch, and potential catalysts from Tesla's robotaxi and self-driving initiatives.

The heaviest loss among S&P 500 constituents was on Dollar General (DG) shares, which slipped 1.9%. The stock managed to buck the downtrend in the broader markets this week as concerns about deteriorating macroeconomic conditions boosted the outlook for cost-conscious consumers seeking bargains at the discount retailer's stores. Dollar General shares also attracted an upgrade earlier this week from analysts at Melius Research, who highlighted the company's relative lack of exposure to tariffs.