By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - US stock markets ended sharply higher Tuesday after the Memorial Day break as trade tensions eased.
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the US will postpone the implementation of a 50% tariff on European Union goods until July 9, pushing back a June 1 deadline following a weekend phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said he hopes there will be a few more deals this week and said they are close to finalizing some of them but noted that it depends on the president.
Hassett said India is among the countries with which they are close to finalizing a trade deal.
Analysts said the tariff postponement for the EU increased optimism in the markets, despite uncertainties about the US's variable tariff policy and the impact of tariffs on the global economy.
In addition, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the EU called to set a meeting date for tariff negotiations.
On the macroeconomic data side, the amount of durable goods orders in the US decreased by 6.3% on a monthly basis in April, according to data released by the US Census Bureau.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.78%, or 740.58 points, to close at 42,343.65.
The Nasdaq Composite increased by 2.47%, or 461.96 points, to 19,199.16 and the S&P 500 soared 2.05%, or 118.72 points, to 5,921.54.
The VIX Index, also known as the “fear index," fell 7.83% to 18.96.