Mubasher: The main indexes of Wall Street rose on Monday, 14 April, on the back of gains in technology stocks after the White House exempted smartphones and computers from new tariffs on Chinese imports, Reuters reported.

The US announced the tariff exemptions on 10 April yet President Donald Trump said he would disclose tariff rates for imported semiconductors later in the week.

The exempted tech products will face new duties within the next two months, Reuters cited U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

These product categories make up about 20% of US imports from China, according to Deutsche Bank.

At 09:37 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average, opens new tab rose 416.38 points, or 1.04%, to 40,629.09.

The S&P 500 opens new tab gained 71.87 points, or 1.34%, to 5,435.23.

In addition, the Nasdaq Composite opens new tab gained 281.52 points, or 1.68%, to 17,005.97.

Information technology opens new tab led sub-sector gains and was up 2.3%.

Meanwhile, most megacap and growth stocks rose, with Apple opens new tab leading the bunch with a 5.4% gain.

Chip stocks also advanced, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index opens new tab jumping 1.1%.

PC maker HP opens new tab gained 4% and retailer Best Buy opens new tab added 5%.

The CBOE Volatility Index opens new tab, considered Wall Street's fear gauge, eased from eight-month highs hit last week and was last at 32.95.

The exemptions would ease some pressures on the cost of consumer goods, notably on Apple products, which would have become "un-sellable" if tariffs went into effect, Reuters cited Kim Forrest, Chief Investment Officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.

"It feels as if the Trump administration is responding to consumer pressure... the huge tariffs placed on China might be walked back as well," Forrest said.

After slumping earlier last week, the S&P 500 opens new tab notched its biggest weekly gain on 11 April since November 2023. But the index was still about 4.5% away from levels seen before 2 April's "Liberation Day" tariff announcement.

Goldman Sachs opens new tab shares were up 2.1% after the bank reported higher first-quarter profit. Quarterly earnings from companies including Netflix opens new tab are on the radar this week.

Among other stocks, obesity drugmakers gained after Pfizer opens new tab said it would end the development of its experimental weight-loss pill.

Eli Lilly opens new tab and Viking Therapeutics opens new tab were up 1% and 13%, respectively.

Citigroup downgraded US equities to "neutral" from "overweight" on expectations that tariffs would hit earnings growth.